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EVERY BOY 



HIS OWN MMUFACTUREE, 



COlITAINrNG INSTEUCTIONS IN 



CARPENTRY, TURNING, BOAT BUILDING, 
AND GLASS BLOWING, 



WITH FXUX BIEECTIONS HOW TO MAKE 



STEAM ENGINES, LOCOMOTIVE ENGINES, ELECTRIC TELE- 
GRAPHS, STEAM BOATS, DIORAMAS, CLOCKS, 
BRACKETS, TELESCOPES, ETC., ETC. 






PROFUSELY ILLUSTRATED 



New Yoek : \\ '' ^ m.lltALQ ^, ' 



HAPPY HOURS COMPaX^fwashjv^g.-^^^'- 



No. 1 CnAMBEiiS Street. 



T?1 



Entered according to Act of Congress, in tbe year 1873, by Happy Hours Company, 
in the Office of tlie Librarian of Congress, at Wasliington, D. C. 



PEEFACE 



In a work of this character but small preface is needed, the title of the book 
being its own preface. 

Each department has been written by gentlemen who have been trained to the 
various subjects, and have had many years' practical experience, and the Editor 
confidently trusts that a work of this nature will supply a hitherto existing 
want, and become the constant companion of eveiy boy who desires to be- 
come his 

OWiT MAiOJFACTIJRER. 



EVERY BOY 



HIS OWN MANUFACTURER. 



CARPENTERING. 




Fig, 2. 



Carpentering 
is a useful and 
healthy em- 
ployment,and 
every boy will 
do well to give 
some of his 
time to learn 
the use of the 
tools required 
in this branch 
of the me- 
chanical art. 

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a carpenter's working bench. A is a 
*'jaw" forholdiog wood when planing the edges; B is a square block of 
wood, or rest, called a stop or bench-dog, which can be shifted up or 
down to any required distance above the surface of the table, to keep 
the wood firm when being planed. 

A very good size for a bench is 5 ft. long by 2 ft. 6 in. broad, and 2 ft. 
6 in. above the ground, that is, 2 ft. G in. cubes. 

Do not buy a box of tools, but go to some respectable maker and buy 
them separately. 

In describing each tool and the way to use it, it will be best to begin 
with the hand-saw (Fig. 2), which is used for cutting wood from the 
plank; it should be about 20 in. long, with teeth about eight to the 
inch. This saw will cut crossways, as well as lengthways, of the wood. 
When buying it, say it is required for cutting soft wood. Always mark 
out the wood that is to be cut, with pencil and rule. When cutting, 
look on both sides of the saw at once ; this will ensure a straight cut. 



6 



EYERY BOY HIS 0T72T MANUFACTURER. 




The saw is held at an angle of about 45='. If it should bend or not work 
easily, put a little common tallow on the blade. On no account try to 
set or sharpen the saw, or the result will be more harm than good. 
This can be done properly for you at a carpenter shop. 

The tenon-saw (Fig. 3) is made to cut 
across the grain of the wood, so as to 
leave the ends neat: it is also used for 
cutting ^'dovetails." It has ten to fifteen 
EiG, 3. teeth to the inch. It has a stiff brass rib 

to hold the blade straight when cutting. A good length is 12 inches. 

Fig. 4 represents the smoothing -plane. This tool is used for smooth- 
ing the wood to a nice flat and even surface -, it % also used for finishing 
up the ends of the wood. The size required is about 8 in. long by 2i 
in. broad. When buying it, specify that it shall have double irons. In 
all probability it will have a pretty good edge when purchased, and will 
only require a rub on the hone to make it 
fit for use. To a boy who has a limited 
amount of pocket-money it is advisable not 
to buy a hone, but to obtain a good piece of 
writing slate, which makes a first-rate hone 
when used with a little oil. 



iff of«TVinc?i. 



Fig. 5. 

To sharpen the iron, unscrew 
the pinching-screw, A, Fig. 5, and 
you can then take off the break- fig. 

iron, B. Fig. 6 shows the position and the angle, and also the way to 
hold the iron when it is on the hone. Fig. 5 shows the kons when 
ready to be put into the stock. To disengage the irons from the stock, 
strike a couple of moderate blows on the stock at A, Fig. 4, with the mallet 
(Fig. 7); if this do not loosen them, tap the wedge on either side alternate- 
ly, and, when sufficiently slack, it can be withdrawn by the fingers. 

In putting the wedge into its 

i ^p^ place, one or two slight taps with 

II 




^^^^^ the mallet will fix it ; if much force 
be used, most likely the stock will 
Pig. 7. Split, or be otherwise distorted. The 

cutting edge of the iron should project through the base of the stock 
only suf&cient to be noticeable when looking along the plane. Do not 
buy a second-hand plane, or it will be found on inspection that all the 
cutting edge has been ground away, and the plane useless. 



ETEEY EOT HIS OTTx :m:axt:tactueek. 





A 


1 


if'!?' 

1 





The joiner's hammer (Fig. 8) 
is a tool which every boy knows 
when he sees it ; it will, therefore, 
be mineeessary to give a lengthy 
description of it. ^^ ^ 

The face should be about three-quarters of an inch diameter. In 
holding the hammer, the hand should be very near the end of the han- 
dle. When driving in a nail, two or three light strokes will effectively 
start it, and it can then be driven home with greater force. 

A two-feet rule (Fig. 9) is 
most handy for general use, 
marked off, to inches and 
eighths. It is made of box- 
wood. 
The set-square is represented in Fig. 10. This tool 
is for marking off a line, at right angles to the edge of 
a plank, or any other place where a line is required at 
right angles. A 12 in. blade is the best size. The blade, 
A, is made of steel ; the frame, B, of ebony wood. There 
are three brass pins to hold the blade in its place. fig. lo. 

The two chisels, Figs. 11 and 12, are requii'ed for ordinary carpenter- 
ing : one, one-eighth of an inch broad 
for cutting dovetails, the other about 
three-quarters of an inch. An edge is 
given to these in the same way as the 
plane. 

The screw- driver is for putting screws 
Figs. 11 and 13. into wood. The breadth of the tool 

where it enters the screw's head should be three -eighths of an inch broad. 
This tool has not a sharp edge. 

The marking-gauge, Fig. 13, is for mark- 
ing parallel lines from the edge of a plank or 
other piece of wood. A, is a pencil or 
scriber, B, is a set-screw to adjust the gauge. 
The gimlet, Fig. 14, is a tool for boring 
holes, but as it is very apt to split the wood 
when used near the edge, great care is nec- 
essary. It is generally best to use the brace U 
and bit anywhere near the edge of the wood. fics. 13 and 14. 
The gimlet is more liable to split hard wood than soft. 
The brace and bits, Fig. 15, is another boring tool; it is used for 
boring holes from one-eighth of an inch to three- 
quarters of an inch in diameter. Tliis tool cuts a 
very neat and clean hole. The bit, A, Fig. 15, fits 




8 



EVERY BOY HIS 0~^X MAI^"UEACTUEER. 



into a square socket in the brace. The left hand is placed 
top of the brace, and the right hand 
on the crank, B, by which a circular 
motion is given to the bit. The top 
figure is a rose-bit and is used for sink- 
ing the heads of nails or screws. i^g. is. 



on the 

A 





Fig. 21. 



Fig. 22. 



"Fig. 18. Fig. 19. Fig. 20. 

The gouge is a very similar tool to the chisel ; instead of cutting a flat 
surface, it cuts a semicircular groove. It is not a very easy tool to han- 
dle, but it is a very useful one. 

There are many other tools than those described and illustrated, 
which an experienced carpenter would require. These few pages teach 
but the first lesson to the young carpenter in his apprenticeship. There 
is the jack-plane, for bringing the rough wood to a level surface ; the 
lock-saw, for cutting circular work and various other planes and saws ; 
the spoke-shave, dec. 

Let all the materials you use in carpentry be good. Durable work 
cannot be made with green timber. The best work will be worthless if 
you do not get well-seasoned wood. For different purposes, difi'erent 
woods are chosen. Oak will stand all weathers without being much af- 
fected. Elm will endure in wet situations better than other woods. Ash 
is a very tough and also a very flexible wood ; it is, perhaps, the best if 
wanted to stand a sudden strain. Pine is more largely used in carpen- 
try than any other wood, on account of its cheapness. For cabinet- 
work black walnut is much used; for ornamental turning, boxwood, 
coromandel, and other hard woods are used. 

HOW TO MAKE A TOOL-BOX. 

A handy and convenient size for a tool-box is 2 ft. long, 21 in. broad, 
and lOi m. deep. The material required for this will be enumerated 
below. 

12 ft. of i-in. pine-wood 11 m. broad; 1 pair of hinges (or iron butts, 
as they are called by the trade); 

12 screws for ditto, 1 in. long ; 



^ EVEKT EOT HIS OWN MAlf-DTACTUKEB. 9 

1 paper brads. Fig. 17.) 
' 5 cts. worth of glue. i ^"" ' ' 

1 lock and key (iron) ^''' ^'^' 

When buying the wood, ask for "insides." The first thing to be done 
is to cut the wood into proper lengths and dimensions. The pieces re- 
quired will be : 

FoTthe sides of the box, 2 pieces 24i in. long, 
" two ends '' 2 '' 21i '' 
" lid " 2 '' 24i " 

" bottom " 2 " 24 ^' 

These dimensions should be marked off on the plank before cutting, 
with a rule and pencil. The two sides and the two ends should now be 
planed on both sides, and the top and bottom edges planed true and 
square. The breadth of the wood will now be 10^^ in. 

The best joint for a box is the ''dovetail joint." Fig. 18. shows the 
side with the "dovetail" cut. Fig. 19 the end with the ''points," cut. 
Fig. 20 the dovetail joint finished. 

To make the dovetail joint, proceed as follows : On one of the sides 
of the box mark off lines with the square, 2 feet apart, also mark off 
lines 23 in. apart; call these lines a and b (Fig. 21). Mark on the line 
a points every inch and half-inch alternately ; on the line b mark off a 
point seven-eighths of an inch from &, and then points for every six- 
eighths of an inch. 

Now draw lines from the points on line a to the points on line b 
(Fig. 22.) Cut with a tenon-saw from c to ^ and from e to / treating 
each dovetail in the same way. With a chisel cut the piece out so as to 
form a dovetail, as in Fig. 18. The pins are now to be drawn to corres- 
pond with the dovetails, which can be done by placing the dovetails 
just made over the end of the short sides, or ends, and marking them 
with a pencil. When this is done, make lines 20 in. apart ; cut the pins 
down to this line with the tenon-saw. In cutting the pins, cut outside 
the pencil lines. The space between can now be cut out with a chisel. 
When all the pieces have been done in this manner they should be 
coated with thin glue, and then hammered well together. When dry, 
the projecting ends of the pins and dovetails may be trimmed off with 
a chisel. This is called the "carcase" of the box. 

|M||| The bottom of the box is to be put in next. 
Plane up the two pieces 24 in. long by 11 in. 
broad, and fit them neatly in the "carcase." 
They should be nailed from outside the box, 

^?^ Fig. 23. 

j?iG. 23. The lid pieces are planed up next, so as to 

fit outside the "carcase." Fig. 24 is the box when finished; a is a 
piece of wood 2 in. deep, nailed on the lid to keep it square on the box ; 






10 



EVERY BOY HIS OTOT MANUFACTURER. 




B B is a beading of wood nailed 
on the box to make a strong base, 
and also to protect the edges from 
chipping. 

A DOa-KENNEL, AND HOW 
TO MAKE IT. 

A dog -kennel, as everybody fig. 24. 

knows, may be almost any size and shape, as of course the kennel that 
suits Master Pup, the terrier, will not suit Sir Growler, the Newfound- 
land. However, suppose Master Pup requires a new house : it must not 
be made too small or too large, for if made the former, poor doggy will 
get the cramps in his legs, or, if it be made the latter, he will feel cold 
and uncomfortable, and will want a whole truss of straw to keep him 
warm. 
Fig. 25 is about a nice roomy kennel for a terrier. If the kennel be 

required for a larger or smaller 
dog, the size can be altered to 
suit it, by increasing or reduc- 
ing all the dimensions in pro- 
portion to the required size. It 




has a hole 1 in. in diameter 

over the doorway in front, and 

S also one of the same size at the 

back: this will establish a 

YiG. 25. -draught, to carry off any bad 

air, which always accumulates at the highest point. If the kennel be 

made this size, i in. pine wood will be sufficient, but, if made larger, 1 

in. wood may be used. 

Materials required : 38 ft. i in. pine wood, 11 in. 

broad. 4 doz. 2 in. brads, (Fig. 27) 3 doz. 1 in. brads, |^.' '^ ^^—^ 

(Fig. 26) 2 doz. f in. screws. Eig. 26. 

The floor of the kennel is the first thing to be made, because the 

^ _2 m ...s, whole after work is erected from it. Cut 

\j '^ two pieces from the plank with the tenon- 

EiG. 27. saw, 2 ft. Hi in. long; plane this on one 

side and the edges. Also cut two pieces 
20 in. long by Si in. broad ; plane these 
up nicely on all sides. The two pieces 
for the bottom are now to be placed as 
m Fig. 28. 

The pieces 20 in. by 51 in., are 
screwed on with f in. screws ; this 
holds the two bottom pieces firmly to- 
gether. Cut a piece off the plank 3 ft. 9 in. long, and plane it up to 10^ 




2n.!i.^i 



ElG. 



EVERT BOY HIS OWX ArAXrFArTrTRETl. 



11 



2ft. SiTt.. 




i/l; 6iji 



2jt>. Sin. 



in. broad; then cut it diagonally 
across, as Fig. 29. This forms the 
back of the kennel^ and should be 
nailed on the bottom with 2 in. 
brads. (Fig. 30.) Make a hole in 
the wood with a brad-awl before 
putting in a nail. eig. 29. 

The front is made in the same way, but requires a hole cut for the 
doorway before it is nailed on. The curve at the top is cut with the 

compass -saw. The edges of the 
doorway should be rounded off; this 
\^ill protect Master Pup from cut-- 
ting his ribs when he runs out in 
a hurry. For the sides, cut six 
pieces 18 in. long, plane these to 10^ 
in. broad. Also cut pieces 18 in. 
long and 5 in. broad, and plane 
them down to 4^ in. broad. The 
edges of these boards must all be 
EiG. 30. square and straight, so as to fit 

neatly together. Xail on these boards as in Fig. 31. 

The holes to receive the nails ^ 

should be made with a brad-awl. 
The cross-bar, Fig. 31, A, running 
from the front to back, is 1 in. 
-square, and is screwed on from 
the outside of the front and back. 
The top is now to be made. Cut 
eight pieces 18 in. long and plauc 
them to lOi in. broad. The sur- 
face that goes outside should be fig. 31.' 
planed smooth. Top is put on as in Fig. 32 ; B is a piece of wood half an 
inch square nailed on after the top is on. A 
skilled carpenter would '^ mitro" the edges to- 
KV«ini'f| itniiUM^Tl^ gether, and thus dispense with this extra piece. 
wv.^^'i --L^^'^ »ni.^w,Mn^ With a couple of coats of paint the kennel 






will be finished. The kennel should not 
b? palnie^l inside. Three pounds of 
paint will be required. If Master Pup 
is to be chained up, it is advisable not 
Yic. 32. to chain him to the kennel, or perhaps 

some fine day he may imagine himself a horse, and cut capers 
with his wheelless carriage at his tail. 

F\^. 33 is a peg to be driven into the ground to fasten the chain 
to; B is a staple to be driven into the peg. 



Fig. 33. 



12 EYERY BOY HIS OWN MAT^UEACTUREB. 



PLAIN TUENING IN WOOD AND IVORY. 



To those of our young readers who have a mechanical turn there are 
few, if any, of the various indoor amusements which can be compared 
with Turning, and there are none, we are convinced, from which such 
truly satisfactory resalts will follow. 

Very little real instiuction, however, can be imparted by any written 
directions, however clearly and concisely they may be given, unless they 
are accompanied by practical demonstration and the actual manipulation 
of the lathe by a practised performer. The endless variety of patterns 
and figures which are capable of being produced in the lathe does away 
with all monotony, and when once the rudiments of the art are acquired 
the pupil will find himself amply repaid for all the trouble he may have 
bestowed upon it. He must, however, possess taste in the arrangement 
of his patterns, in their proportions and in their designs: in the absence 
of these, all his labor will be fruitless, however great may be the pro- 
ficiency to which he may attain in the actual working of his lathe. 

The first step to be taken is to secure a good lathe ; that is, as soon as 
the pupil finds, by working at the lathe of some professional turner, that 
he really likes it and can handle the ordinary tools in a tolerably work- 
manlike manner. We will suppose that the beginner has obtained the 
advantage of watching a professional turner at work, and has learned 
practically the use of the different sized ''gouges," and can turn some 
rude patterns, such as the leg of a chair, with a tolerable amount of 
finish and without chipping the wood or notching the tools. Let him 
then be taught and practice the use of the diiferent-sized chisels and the 
point-tools, and this learned properly and their manipulation well under- 
stood, the groundwork of plain turning may be said to be overcome. 

The next step we would commend being taken is that of making a 
small urn or egg-cup. To do this, proceed as follows : 

Having fixed the piece of wood in the chuck (the receptacle, whether 
of brass or wood, which screws on to the mandril of the lathe), com- 
mence turning it with a moderate-sized gouge into the rough shape you 
require; then, with a small " side-tool," hollow out the inside of the 
requisite size, and finish off with sand-paper. When the inside is com- 
pleted, turn down the outside to the desired shape, and finish off with 
sand-paper. After a httle practice this will be found to be tolerably 
easy of accomplishment, and another step in advance may now be 



EYEKY BOY HIS OWX MA^UFACTUEEK. 13 

taken, yIz., that of making an ordinary box. HaYing selected a piece 
of wood of the size you require, and fixed it, as before, in the chuck, 
''rough" it out to the shape you wish, and very carefully turn down the 
projection to receive the lid of the proper size, and, having finished off 
this part of the box, hollow it out by means of the side-tool, as before ; 
then chuck the piece of wood intended for the lid, and proceed in pre- 
cisely the same way, taking care to fit the two very nicely ; and, having 
shut one within the other, finish them off together; then, in order to 
complete the bottom and top, chuck them the reverse way, removing 
them, of coiu*se, from the original chuck and fitting them to a fresh one. 

Then, we would point out the absolute necessity of learning to 
''chuck" well, i. e., to fix the wood or other material you are about to 
turn firmly and properly in the chuck. This is a most material, and, in- 
deed, indispensable ingredient in the art of turning, and more disap- 
pointment and annoyance proceeds from a neglect of this precaution 
than from any other cause. 

The making of a set of chessmen afibrds most excellent practice to 
the beginner in more ways than one ; it teaches the use of the gouges 
of various sizes, and of the point-tool and chisels, and, what is of equal 
importance, turning to measurement, for there must be sixteen pawns 
all exactly alike and of the same size, four castles, four bishops, two 
kings, and two queens, and the bases of the knights (the heads, of course, 
cannot be made in the lathe). 

Turning in soft wood is but little practised by the amateur turner, as 
there is but small scope for the exercise of his ingenuity and taste, be- 
sides which, the method of turning it is entirely different, the level of 
the rest upon which the tool is held being fixed far above the centre 
of the wood which is being turned ; while in hard wood and ivory turn- 
ing it is fixed as much below it, soft wood requiring to revolve directly 
against the edge of the tool, hard wood at an angle. Besides which, 
soft wood is not capable of being ornamented by means of the slide- 
rest and overhead motion, while hard wood and ivory are the best 
materials for receiving the most delicate patterns. 

The best, and, indeed, the only woods that will repay the trouble of 
turning, are box-wood, crocus, and the African black-wood. Ebony 
should under all circumstances be avoided, for, although it is susceptible 
of taking the most beautiful polish, it is very treacherous, for after, per- 
haps, hours of trouble and work have been bestowed upon it, it will bo 
found they have been entirely thrown away, a crack appearing and 
branching in various directions. No material with which we are ac- 
quainted can be compared with ivory, the only drawback being its cost; 
and, on this account, in hollowing it, in making a box, the inside, instead 
of being cut out in shavings, should always be taken o\it in rings, by 
means of a bent-tool and fine parting-tool ; and thus much of the 



14 EVERY BOY HIS OWN :M:AifUrACTURER. 

material is saved, which is always useful for making rims for pedestals, 
candlesticks, &c. 

It will scarcely he helieved hy those unacquainted with the working 
of the lathe that there is no regular shape that is not capable of being 
produced by means of it, and it is perfectly marvelous what may be 
performed by common or hand turning. We remember seeing what 
we consider to have been the most wonderful piece of work ever pro- 
duced. It was in the Exhibition in Hyde Park in 1851. It was the size 
and shape of an ordmary hen's egg, and the whole of the inside had 
been turned out through an opening at one end of only one-tenth of an 
inch in diameter ! It was performed by a journeyman turner in an or- 
dinary lathe. It should be added that the shell thus produced weighed 
less by some grains than an ordinary egg-shell of the same size. 

Tedious as the operation is, nothing in the art of turning repays the 
trouble and time bestowed upon it more than constantly sharpening the 
tools and keeping a sharp edge continually upon them, for without this 
precaution an even surface on the work can never be produced. 

Nothing gives so dehghtfal a finish to the smooth surface of the wood 
as French pohsh, which may be applied in the lathe. Simple as it may 
appear, it is by no means an easy matter, and requires a great deal of 
practice. A piece of hard wood must be turned, and made as smooth as 
possible with sand-paper, then take a piece of flannel about four or five 
inches square, and double it, then apply it to the neck of the bottle of 
French polish, which must be inverted two or three times until a piece 
of the surface of the flannel, about the size of a five-cent piece, is satu- 
rated with the polish, then apply a few drops of salad oil and rub it 
over it with the finger ; the lathe should then be set in motion rather 
quickly, and as the work revolves the polish should be applied to it even- 
ly and with a very slight pressure, which should be gradually increased 
as the polish hardens. A second and even a third coat may be given ; 
but great care should be taken not to press too hard against the work, 
or the friction will burn it and cause dark dull streaks to appear on the 
face of it. This kind of polish should never be applied to ivory, the 
best way of polishing which is as follows : 

Having finished the work with very sharp tools and the finest '^ glass- 
cloth" or sand-paper, mix about a couple of table-spoonfuls of common 
whitening, reduced to a fine powder, with water, until it is of the con- 
sistency of cream, and thoroughly saturating a piece of flannel with it, 
apply it as described above to the work as it revolves, taking care to 
keep it perfectly wet. When the requisite polish is obtained, a soft 
brush with dry powdered whitening should be used, and then a piece of 
flannel soaked in a little salad oil, and, lastly, a silk handkerchief. 

In making boxes of hard wood, it is better to rough them out and 
keep them in a dry place for some weeks before they are used, as some- 



EYEET BOY HIS OWX MANUPACTHREE. 15 

times the wood will crack if it happens to be at all damp, which is often 
the case if it be used directly it is purchased. If hard wood be pur- 
chased in any quantity, it is a good plan to glue pieces of brown paper 
over each end of the log ; this will prevent its cracking. Oihng it is also 
a good plan. 

Rhinoceros horn makes a most beautiful material when turned and 
polished ; but the operation is most tedious, for, with every care, it dulls 
the edges of the tools directly they are apphed to it, and the hone must 
be kept in constant use. After being turned and made perfectly smooth 
with the finest glass-cloth, it must be polished with a mixture of rotten- 
stone and oil while revolving in the lathe, as before described. 

A few hours' occasional instruction at the hands of a professional 
turner will do more for a beginner than reading volumes of printed 
directions; at the same time, we feel assured that the few hints we 
have given will be of essential service. 

ORNAMENTAL TURNING. 

We now come to the most difficult part of our subject, viz., Ornament- 
al Turning — so called to distinguish it from Common or Hand Turning, 
as described in our previous article; for by it the most delicate and 
intricate patterns may be cut on hard wood and ivory with the most 
delightful accuracy and with mathematical truth, which could not by 
any possibility be produced without its aid ; and as the apparatus neces- 
sary for its accomplishment is only an addition to the ordinary lathe, its 
different parts may be purchased by degrees, as the learner gradually 
attains proficiency. 

We will first, then, describe the lathe itself, as shown in the annexed 
wood-cut. (Fig. 1.) 

A A is a framework of wood, generally mahogany, very strongly and 
substantially made, on which the other parts of the lathe are put on and 
taken off, as required. In some lathes the '' bed" (the horizontal cross- 
piece at the top and front) is entirely of iron ; but this we object to, for 
we have found by experience that there is much more vibration than 
there is if it be made only partly of that material ; and for this reason 
we recommend that the lower part of it be made of the best mahogany, 
having two bars of planed cast iron exactly parallel to each other on its 
top, and half an inch thick, which can be easily added to any lathe 
having its ''bed" formed entirely of wood, which is the case with all 
low-priced ones. 

B is the driving-wheel, which is set in motion by the treadle, C. This 
should be of cast iron, and the heavier the better. The smaller wheel 
attached to it (as shown in the drawing) is used in metal turning only, 
as very much less speed is required than in turning wood or ivory. 



16 



EVERY BOY HIS OWN" MANUFACTURER. 



D is the " pulley," as it is called, over which the catgut band from the 
driving-wheel passes and sets it in motion. 

E is the mandril, having a screw at its end which fits all the chucks, 
and on which they are screwed as required. It should fit the ''head" 
of the lathe with the most scrupulous accuracy, and should be hollow 
from end to end {i. e., if the lathe has a screw-cutting apparatus belong- 
ing to it), as it enables the performer to chuck long pieces of thin wood, 




Fig. L 



ETEEY BOY HIS O^K MAXUFACTTJEEE. 17 

ivory, &;c., and to turn their ends by passing tliem through it as well as 
through the chuck. 

F is what is called the ''back poppit/' and is a movable contrivance 
attached to the lathe, having a piece of pointed steel, which is capable 
of being advanced or withdrawn by means of the screw at its rear. It 
is used when turning any long piece of wood, or other material, in order 
to keep it steady. It slides between the two iron bearers on the bed of 
the lathe as before described, and can be fixed at any spot upon them 
by its binding-screw, as shown in the drawing; the pointed piece of steel 
which is pressed against the material should be exactly opposite the 
centre of the end of the mandril. 

G is a most ingenious and useful addition to the lathe, as it enables the 
turner to make screws, whether of the coarser or finer threads, with the 
most unerring accuracy. It is a plate of brass, three-eighths of an 
inch in thickness, attached to the end of the head of the lathe, immedi- 
ately below tlie end of the mandril, which projects about two and a half 
inches; and moving on an eccentric, so that it is callable of the very 
finest adjustment, in order to fit a coarse 
or fine thread. It is in the shape shown 
in the engraving. (Fig 2.) 

Six segments of a circle are cut out 
from its edge. In Ko. 1 is cut a coarse 
thread; in No. 2, a finer one, and so on 
to No. 6, corresponding with and fitting 
the six different sized screw-tools. 
The end of the mandril has a steel cap 
fitted to it, wliicli is kept in its place by 

a screw at one end, while the other riG.2, Screw-cutting AprARATns. 
meets the head of the lathe, and keeps the mandril from advancing when 
the lathe is at work. There are also six blocks of steel, an inch and a 
half in diameter and an inch thick, and round these are cut threads Nos. 
1 and 6, as before described; these are called ''screw guides," and are 
used in this way : when it is desired to cut a screw (whether coarse or 
fine), the number is selected, the screw at the end of the mandril must 
betaken out, the cap removed, and one of the guides put in its place 
(the guides have holes through them, fitting the end of the mandril), and 
fixed by the screw. The brass plate must then be moved up and down 
by means of the eccentric attached to it, until the corresponding screw 
fits into the thread of the guide, and allows it to run freely and evenly 
upon it. The screw-tool must then be selected which fits the guide. 
And now, then, for the method of cutting the required screw. Advance 
the screw-guide on the screw in the edge of the brass plate below it about 
half its length, having previously, of course, turned the piece of wood or 
ivory on which the screw is to be cut, and attached it in its chuck to the 




IS 



EYEEY EOT HIS OW:S" MA:N-UrACTUEEIl. 



mandril. Then place the screw-tool on the rest M, allowing its end to 
come in contact with the work, when it must be held perfectly steady. 
The large driving-wheel must then be moved with the treadle about 
half-way round, and reverse. It will be readily seen that the mandril 
as it revolves moves forward and backward by the motion thus given 
to it, and of course in exact proportion to the ''pitch" of the thread em- 
ployed; and after a few turns the screw is complete. The inside screw 
is cut in precisely a similar way, substituting the inside screw-tool. For 
making ''working" screws, i.e., those which in boxes, &;c., are intended 
to be opened and shut, this apparatus is invaluable, as the screws thus 
made fit most accurately. TVhere a joint is made, not intended to be dis- 
turbed, the screws may be cut well enough by hand; but when time is no 
object, we would advise all screws to be made by this apparatus. Care 
should be taken that the screw-tool be placed on the rest so that its side 
comes exactly against the "shoulder" of the work, where the bottom of the 
screw finishes. A groove should always be cut round the work at this 
spot, rather deeper than the intended thread, which glides nicely into it 
without leaving a ragged edge. 

We will next attempt to describe 
the "universal chuck*' (Fig. 3), so 
called from its being capable of hold- 
ing in the lathe any sized piece of 
wood or ivory from half an inch up 
to four or five inches. This chuck 
is not absolutely/ necessary, although 
a very useful tool. It is a plate of 
brass, A, about half an inch thick, 
having a screw in its centre at the 
back to fit the nose of the mandril 
(which all chucks must do.), and 
having three steel screws, B, B, B, 
passing through slots and converg- 
PiG. 3. ing to the centre, as shown in the 

engraving. The holes which appear in the plate are of no other use'than 
that of lessening the weight of the chuck. It is as well to have ten or 
twelve concentric circles cut on the face of the plate, as it enables the 
turner to adjust his work in it with greater facility as regards the centre of 
the chuck. In order to fix the work in this chuck, the screws should be 
turned, with a key made to fit them, until the jaws, or "dogs," as they 
are called, are drawn sufficiently far from the centre to admit of its being 
inserted; they must then be- screwed tight against it, and it is thuf held 
quite firmly. Some of these chucks are made so that by turning one 
screw all three of these jaws move equally toward the centre; but this 
is practically a disadvantage, and for this reason : that it requires the work 




EYEEY BOY HIS OTTX MArNTTACTrRER. 



19 



to be exactly circular, in order to grip it firmly, which is not the case ii 
the screws act independently of each other. In the latter case the turner 
is able to chuck work of almost any shape, and this is a great consider- 
ation in preparing the material, particularly ivory, for the lathe, in which 
it is, of course, desirable to avoid cutting, as much as possible, to waste. 

Another very useful tool is the ''boring collar" (Fig. 4), which is attached 
to the lathe in the same way as the "back poppit," F. It is composed 
of a circular plate of cast iron, A, having 
eight circular holes bored through it, as 
shown in the drawing, varying in size from 
half an inch up to two inches, or even 
more, and slightly tapered. 

It is for the purpose of supporting any 
long piece of work while boring it, in order 
to get rid of the vibration. It is used in 
this way: the ''back poppit" must be taken 
from the bed of the lathe, and the "boring 
collar'' put in its place, with its standard 
next to the mandril; the distance from 
which must, of course, be regulated by the 
length of the work required to be bored. 
One end of the work being fixed in the 
chuck, the "boring collar" must be pushed 
forward, and the plate turned round, until 
the hole in the plate, fitting the work, is at 
the top, when it will be found to be ex- 
actly opposite the end of the mandril, and 
concentric with it; the plate must then be 

made fast by means of the nut in the centre, by the bindTug-screw be- 
neath, and the boring collar itself fixed in its place. The "lathe must 
then be worked in the ordinary way, and the end of the work can then 
be easily bored or hollowed as required without fear of its giving way. 

We have, w<3 trust, described the lathe itself sufficiently, sofar°as com- 
mon or hand turning is concerned ; and we will now proceed to describe 
tlie various additions to it which are necessary for the accomplishment of 
Ornamental Turning. 




Fig. 4. 



THE OVERHEAD MOTION. 

This is a bar of wrought iron, H (Fig. 1.), fitting movablyinto two stout 
nngs of the same material, attached to the left-hand bearer of the lathe, 
as shown in the drawing, and having a screw, L, beneath it, and work- 
ing in a third ring to enable it to be raised or depressed about three 
niches at pleasure by means of a screw, for the puri)ose of tightening or 
loosening the band which passes over the pulley, hereafter described. 



20 



EYERT BOY HIS OTYN" MAXTJFACTUEER. 



The upper end of this bar is beut, as shown in the engraving, and 
carries a frame and spindle, I, on which are two pulleys about three 
inches in diameter. 

In common or hand turning the work revolves in the lathe, and the 
tools are held against it; but in ornameutal turning it is just the reverse, 
for while the tools revolve, the work remains stationary. The band con- 
necting the driving-wheel with the pulley is removed, and a long band 
connecting the driving-wheel with the small pulleys on the overhead 
motion is substituted, and a second band, connecting the other pulley on 
the spindle with the wheels on different parts of the apparatus connect- 
ed with the slide-rest (presently described), causes the different tools to 
revolve. 

The above description will, we trust, be sufficiently clear to enable 
our young readers at once to comprehend this part of the apparatus; and 
we will, therefore, at once proceed to describe the slide -rest, an indispen- 
sable adjunct to the lathe, and without which no attempt can be made 
in this branch of our subject. 

THE SLIDE-EEST, (Fig 5,) 
so called from the cradle connected with it, which carries several slides, 
in which the various tools are fixed. When in use it is attached to the 
lathe by removing the rest,M, described in Fig. 1, and placing the slide- 
rest in its place. We will now attempt to describe it as correctly as we 
can. 




Fig. 5. 

A, is a piece of cast iron, most accurately planed and finished, of the 
shape shown in the engraving, having a slot cut through it nearly its 
entire length, through which a flat threaded screw works and carries the 
shde B, which, by means of this screw, can be moved from one end of A 
to the other, so that the tool can be brought to bear on any part of the 



ETERY BOY HIS O^X MAXUFACTUREE. 



21 



work ; and as the small wli<?el, D, attached to the end of the screw, is 
graduated with twenty divisions, and the ^' pitch" of the screw is twenty 
turns to the inch, it will be seen at once that the very finest adjustments 
may he arrived at. The upper part of the rest is fastened to the lower 
part by means of a stout standard fixed to it exactly at right angles, which 
falls into a receptacle made for it, and the upper part can be secured at 
any angle with the lower by means of the binding-screw, F, and can be 
raised or depressed by turning a ring of brass working on a screw which 
is placed between them. E is a key which turns the screw carrying the 
cradle, B; C is the slide which fits into the cradle, B, and which carries 
the '^ eccentric cutting-frame," the ''universal cutting-frame,'' and the 
*' vertical cutting-frame," all of which will be described in their turn. G- 
G are two binding-screws, which keep them firmly in their places- H is 
the binding-screw for attaching it to the lathe; and I I are two small 
standards, one attached to the slide C, and the other to the cradle B, by 
means of which, and the two levers, A and B (Figs. 6 and 7), they are 
advanced or withdi'awn to and from the work by placing the hole at the 




Figs. 6 a>'d 7. 

end of the lever over the standard on the slide, and the slot over that on 
the cradle, the straight one, A, being used for the tool-slide (Fig. 8), and* 
the drill-slide (Fig. 9) and the bent one, B, for the slides carrying the 
eccentric cutting-frame, universal cutting-frame, and vertical cutting- 
frame. 



THE TOOL-SLIDE. 

This shde is used almost exclusively with what are called the slide- 
rest tools, which need no further description than that they are straight 
tools about two and a quarter inches long, with round, square, pointed 
or grooved ends, according to the pattern required to be produced. They 
fit into the boss C on the slide A, and are kept in their place by the binding- 
screw D. D is the standard before described, E being a small stud or 
handle for withdrawing the slide. F and G are two screws, F regulating 
the depth of the cut in the work, and G by being turned slowly, allowing 
the tool to advance gradually to it, thus diminishing the risk of the very 
delicate points of the tools being broken, and avoiding the chance of a 
ragged gash or scratch being made on the work, which would bo the case 
if the tools were pushed suddenly against it. These screws, it will be 



22 



EYEEY EOT HIS OWi?' MAIfFrACTUEER. 



observed, are attached to all the slides used in the slide-rest. The slide 
(Fig. 8), although it enables the turner to produce very beautiful patterns 
in connection with the eccentric-chuck hereafter described, is compara- 




tiyely very little used for ornamental purposes^ excepting as it is indis- 
pensably necessary in insuring a perfectly true and even surface on the 
wood or ivory, preparatory to the introduction upon it of the various and 
innumerable patterns which are capable of being produced by the other 
tools. The method of using this slide will be described and treated of 
in the concluding remarks and instructions of this article. 

THE DEILLING-FEAME, OR DRELL-SLIDE (Fig. 9). 

This instrument is one of the most useful of all these slides, as by its use 
such a great variety of patterns may be produced. It fits, like all the 
other slides, in the cradle, B, on the slide-rest. A is the slide itself; B, 
the spindle, having a steel wheel at its- lower end (by which motion is given 
to it by passing the band from the overhead motion over it)^ and areeep- 




Fes. 9. 



tacle, E, into which the various tools are inserted. C is the standard 
before described; G, the regulating-screws, and F a small piece of steel 
attached to the slide, which (the head of the screw being graduated) 
enables the turner to alter the depth of the cut by equal degrees. 



EVERT BOY HIS OTTX MAXUFACTFRER. 



23 




Fig. 10. 



THE ECCENTEIC CUTTrNG-FEAME (Fig. 10). 

This instruED 
name implies, is used in 
cutting eccentric patterns 
on the prepared surface 
of wood or ivory, and the 
diversity of work which 
may be accomplished by 
it is almost incalculable. 
A is a steel shaft, which 
also fits into the slide on 
the cradle, B, of the slide- 
rest, having a spindle 
working through its entire 
length, which, like the 
drilling-frame, has a steel 
wheel, E, at its lower end, 
moved in the same way. At the upper end is a steel frame, B, having a 
four-threaded steel screw working through its entire length, with a 
graduated head, C. J) is a binding- 
screw connected with a socket, 
which holds the various tools, of six 
of which we here give drawings (Fig. 
11), which may be made, of course, 
of any shape that may be desired. 
This instrument enables the turner 
to describe circles of any size within 
its compass, by simply turning the screw, G, at the end of the frame, 
which moves the socket nearer to or farther from the centre. 

THE YEETICAL CUTTINQ-FEAME (Fig. 12). 

This tool, like the two preceding 

ones, is attached to the slide in the 

cradle, B, on the slide-rest, by its 

shaft, A. B is the end of a steel 

spindle, passing through its upper 

end, and at exactly right angles 

with the shaft, having a slot and 

binding-screw for holding one of the 

small tools (see Fig. 11) at one end, 

and a similar small steel wheel to 

Fig- 12. that iu Fig. 10 at the other, and 

worked in exactly the same way. This tool, as its name signifies, only 

cuts vertically. 

We now come to a far more complicated, but most useful tool, called 




Fig. 11. 




24 



ETEET BOY HIS OWN" MAITUFACTURER. 



THE UNIVERSAL CUTTING-FRAME (Fig. 13), 

Tvhicb, like all the preceding ones, fits into the slide of the slide-rest, and 
is worked by means of the overhead motion. As its name implies, its 
action is universal, i. e., it enables the tm^ner to make cuts in his work 
at any angle and direction. 

A is its shaft, having a spindle passing through its entire length, 
attached to the apparatus to be presently described, at its upper end, and 
a finely-graduated index, C, with a binding-screw, F, at the other. This 
index has its zero or starting-point on its upper side, and the degrees 
marked upon it extend to its right and left. The instrument, as shown 
in the engraving, is set at this point, and the cut made by it in this po- 
sition would be exactly horizontal. B is the small wheel similar to that 
in Fig. 12. H is the end of the smtill spindle, having a slot cut through 
it, and a binding-screw for the purpose of holding any of the small tools 
in Fig. 11. E is the head of the instrument, and below it is the binding- 
screw for the purpose of holding the small frame, D, which carries the 
two small additional or guide-wheels. It is obvious that if the band from 
the overhead motion came direct from it to the small wheel, B, in the posi- 
tion in the drawing, it could not act, as that wheel is in a horizontal one: 
but, with the aid of the additional or guide- wheels on the frame, D, the 




Pig. 13. 

band can be brought to bear upon it at any angle. We will suppose, then, 
that a cut is required to be made at fifteen degrees from zero on the right : 
the binding-screw, F, must be loosened, and the instrument turned in its 
shaft until the mark on the small fixed stud is exactly opposite that num- 
ber on the index, when the binding-screw, F, must be tightened and the 
cut made. If a corresponding cut is required, all that is necessary is to 



EVERY BOY HIS OW^ AIAXrEACTUPcEE. 



25 



again loosen the binding- screw, F, turn the iustrnment in its shaft until 
the same number on the other side of the index is opposite the mark on 
the small stud, when the cut made will be exactly in a corresponding 
direction on the other side. The frame, D, is made to shift from one side 
to the other, so as to accommodate it to the shape or position of the work; 
and this is done by simply loosening the binding-screw at E, withdrawing 
the frame, and putting it through the same hole on the other side, and 
again tightening the screw; the small brass additional or guide-wheels 
on the frame must then be transferred to the other end of the bar on 
which they work, or they will not be opposite the small driving-wheel on 
the spindle, and would not, therefore, be '^in gear" with it. 

This brief description, with the drawing before him, will, we think, be 
amply sufacient to enable the pupil to comprehend the great use of this 
instrument. All further knowledge of it can only be acquired by practice 
on the instrument itself 

We next proceed to give a description of 

THE ECCENTRIC CHUCK, 

Fig. 14 being the front part of it, showing the cog-wheel, B, on which 
the common chuck carrying the work is screwed, with its ratchet and 
spring, C and D; and Fig. 15 showing the back of the chuck, with the 
screw, F, by which it is attached to the mandril of the lathe, E beiugthe 
head of the screw, to be hereafter described. This chuck is nothing more 




than a slide for moving the work in an eccentric position, or '^out of the 
centre," which enables the turner to operate upon the surface of it at any 
given point. We here give an engraving of the chuck with the sHde 



~b EVERY BOY HIS OTTX MAXTJEACTUEER. 

thrown out (Fig. 16). A is the brass slide ; B is the cogged wheel on 
which the common chuck is fixed, which is graduated round its edge with 




Fig. 16. 



ninety-six divisions or cogs, into which the ratchet, C, having a powerful 
spring, D, works, and holds it in any position. It will be seen, therefore, 
that a lateral or a circular movement, or both, can be given to the work 
attache'd to it, and thus any part of it so placed that the tool in the slide- 
rest can be brought to bear upon it. A slot the whole length of the chuck 
is cut both in the slide, A, and in the brass plate below it, and a steel 
block is firmly brazed to the lower part of the slide. A, through which the 
screw, E, works. The slide A can thus be moved any distance from the 
centre by turning this screw. When the shde A is screwed '^ home," it 
is exactly concentric with the mandril of the lathe. It may be well to 
remark here, that any work intended to be ornamented by the aid of this 
chuck, in conjunction with the slide-rest, should always be turned upon it 
in this position in the plain lathe, and ''faced" by means of the slide-rest 
tools in the slide (Fig. 8) without moving it from, or disturbing it in, the 
chuck. Attention to hints like this, trifling as they may appear until put 
in practice, will often save the turner much time, much annoyance, and, 
what is perhaps of more importance, much temper,- for it fi^equently, 
indeed nearly always, happens that, after much labor devoted to the prep- 
aration of a piece of work to receive eccentric patterns, &c., and it is 
found necessary to remove it from one chuck to another, or to move it in 
its own chuck from the lathe (even although you immediately replace it), 
a great want of accuracy will be discovered, which will take probably 
hours to set to rights. Let it be a golden rule, therefore, never, after a 
piece of work is in a sufflciejit state offortcardness to receive tlie pattern 
intended to he placed upon it, alloiv it to be removed from tJie mandril 
or moved in its chuck. 
An instrument not in anythmg like general use amongst amateur turn- 



EVEEY BOY HIS O^^s" MA2sT7FACTUKER. 27 

ers, although it enables them to place ornamental patterns on work of 
certain peculiar shapes and forms, which they could not perform without 
Its aid, IS deserving of a description here; and we can assure our youno- 
friends that when they have attained a certain amount of proficiency in 
this delightful amusement, it will be well worth their attention, and a 
most useful addition to their stock of ornamental apparatus. It is a very 
simple though very ingenious, piece of mechanism, and we will now 
attempt to describe it. It is called 

THE DOME CHUCK (Fig. 17), 

Tntl' Tri ^'""^ ''' '^^^^^"^ '^' '^^^^^ to ornament the sides of a 
dome or half-sphere on its convex surface, which will be noticed m the 
instructions hereafter given. 
A is a stout piece of brass or gun metal, about half an inch thick and 

four and a half inches long, with 
a nozzle at one end cut at right 
angles to fit the mandril of the 
lathe ; and at the other is a grad- 
uated nut, B, attached to a screw, 
which passes along a slot (longer 
than appears by the engraving) 
and through a block on the lower 
side of the slide, which can tbus be 
moved to or from the centre. To 
an arm extending from this slide is 
fixed the graduated wheel (ninety- 
six divisions), E, which is moved round by the endless screw, D, by means 
of a key, and G is a screw of the same size as that cut on the nose of the 
mandril, which receives the chuck containing the work, C being a binding- 
screw to fix the slide in its place. The slide referred to is composed of 
two plates of brass, and the slot and binding-screw, F, admit of the 
upper one being turned on the other by its centre, which, giving a difi-erent 
position to the work, enables an elliptical shape to be operated upon It 
must not bo imagined that anything can be done with the chuck without 
the assistance of tlie slide-rest and overhead motion. It merely holds the 
work in Its proper position, and regulates its adjustment and the requisite 
movements as the work proceeds. 

No one but those who have had experience can form any idea of the 
difference in appearance between work when finished with a blunt tool 
and with a sharp one; and the time and labor spent.in getting up a bril- 
liant polish on the tool is compensated for tenfold by the beauty and lus- 
tre of the work it produces. 

This (Fig. 18) will be found to be a most useful instrument when 
perfect truth in boring the inside of a cylinder, etc., is required. 




Fig. 17. 



28 



ETERT BOY HIS OWif MAXUFACTURER. 



A is a steel shaft, fitting into 
the shde which carries the ec- 
centric cutting-frame, etc., in 
the slide-rest, with a slot cut 
through its head exaciJy at right 
angles, to admit of the tool B 
being inserted, which is kept 
firmly in its place by two bind- 
ing-screws, as shown in the 
engraving. C is a movable cut- 
er, having a sharp beveled edge 
on its end and side. Bv the aid 




Fig. 18. 



of the slide-rest it moves in an exact straight line, and therefore cuts the 
inside of a tube, cylinder, etc., with perfect accuracy. 



. THE AMATEUE EIsTGII^EEE. 

HOW TO MAKE AN OSCH^LATINa ENGINE. 

In these advanced days of science and civilization we doubt whether any 
boy could possibly be ignorant of the fact that steam is simply water in a 
state of vapor, produced at a temperature of 212°, and upward, '■ Fah- 
renheit." In these pages it is not our intention to enter into a detailed 
account of the discovery, or rather the invention, of the steam-engine (on 
which subject volumes have been and still might easily be filled), which 
may be traced as far back as B. C. 130 years, when Hiero of Alexandria 
invented a species of engine, which Has been so extensively modified and 
altered that it is now almost a difficulty to ascertain which was the pre- 
cise form devised by the Inventor. Small glass and metal constructions, 
which are frequently called '' Hiero's engines," may be purchased at many 
opticians, and are used for diffusing perfumes. Neither do we intend 
writing a long dry essay on the properties and quality of steam. We 
shall only write sufficient to enable the reader to become somewhat ac- 
quainted with the properties and power of this great motive agent, and 
to understand what he is about, before attempting the construction of a 
model engine. We shall only attempt to supply, in generally intelligible 
language, an explanation of the facts and principles on which the struc- 
ture of the steam-engine depends. 

The first thing necessary for the production of steam is a '^ boiler," i. e., 
a vessel sufficiently strong to be capable of resisting a certain pressure, 
and furnished with a valve (called a safety-valve) for relieving the boiler 
of the superabundant pressure, which valve is regulated by a weight placed 
on a lever, or else by means of a strong spiral spring. 



EYEHY BOY HIS OWX iLOUrACTL'EER. 29 

Boilers are now usually made longitudinal, with one or more tubes run- 
ning through them, containing the fire ; or else vertical or upright, with a 
number of tubes inside, conveying the heat from the furnace below to 
the chimney on the top of the boiler. 

A most striking peculiarity of steam is that it increases most enor- 
mously in bulk compared with the water from which it is generated. One 
cubic inch of water will produce one cubic foot of steam, and as a cubic 
loot contains 1,728 cubic inches, it follows that the space occupied by the 
steam would be over 1,700 times that required for the water. 

We fancy we can hear some of our readers say, '^ If that is the case, 
what an immense boiler would be required !" Very true ; but the diffi- 
culty is solved thus: Steam is remarkably elastic and compressible, so 
much so that hundreds of cubic feet can be packed into the space origi- 
nally occupied by one foot, provided the vessel containing it is sufficiently 
strong to resist the great increase of pressure. This is called ^-high-pres- 
sure." For instance, a boiler capable of containing three cubic feet of 
steam, the pressure of which is 20 lbs. to the square inch, has another 
three feet of the same pressure added ; then the pressure on the boiler 
would be doubled, or, as a ''pressure-gauge" would show, would equal 
40 lbs. to the square inch, and so on until the boiler is burst by undue 
pressure. This clearly shows that it is absolutely necessary to provide 
ample means of escape for the steam generated in boilers, as most fright- 
ful accidents are constantly taking place from the neglect of this con- 
dition. 

We will now proceed to the mechanism required for developing the 
force of steam, so as to render it available for any purpose ^to which we 
may feel inclined to apply it. 

There are several different classes of engines, viz.: locomotives, marine, 
screw, paddle and trunk, vertical, horizontal, oscillating and beam. These 
different styles are mostly modifications of the arrangements of the hori- 
zontal and vertical engines. Locomotives and the ordinary arrangements 
of horizontal and vertical engines are what are termed ''high-pressure," 
whilst marine engines are "low-pressure condensing," and the beam en- 
gines frequently high and low-pressure condensing combined. 

Before going further, we think it advisable to describe as concisely as 
practicable what is meant by "condensing." The exhausted steam 
which has done its duty in the cylinder is conducted into a vessel in which 
aquantity of cold water is continuously injected in the form of a jet; this 
has the effect of turning the steam again into water, which is afterward 
partly made use of for feeding the boiler, and, as the water is warm, 
there is necessarily a saving of fuel.* 

' This vpsspI is immorsod in a tnnk of cold water nnd is snpplcmpntiul into ri pump, by means of 
•which the water supplied by the injection and condensed steam are constantly being pumped 
out. This is called the air-pump. 



30 



E^TiRT EOT HIS OW^ST MAI^UFACTURER. 



This class of engine is not always available, on account of the large 
quantity of water required for condensing the steam. 

We will now give directions how to make the simplest kind of engine 
that can x^ossibly bo made, and which any boy of ordinary intelligence, 
possessing a slight knowledge of tools, can make at a very slight cost. 
It is a simple modification of the high-pressure engine, usually known 
as direct-acting, in which the cylinders (a single one in our case) oscillate j 
at the same time it is the weakest. As an oscillating, this is but one of 
a class, as many of our larger marine engines are built on that principle, 
the recommendation being the small compass in which they can be stowed. 

A; Fig. 1, is the 
boiler, which con- 
sists of a fruit-can 
about 4 inches in 
diameter by 4f 
inches in height, 
with a new end 
soldered on where 
it was opened. B, 

C, D, represent 
the gauge-cock, 
which is made by 
turning a piece of 
brass to the form 
indicated at C, 

; and drilling a hole 
through it in the 
^globular part, 
.which is then 
reamed out taper- 
ing. The plug, 

D, of the cock is 
turned to fit the 
hole in C, and 

seated by grinding it in with grindstone grit and oil at first, and after- 
ward with oil alone. A piece of wire will do for the handle. Cut a 
thread on D, and fit a nut on it to hold the plug D in C ; then put the 




The water surrounding the condensar, unless it were changed, woidd in time become •warm, 
and fail to effect the condensation. Tliis is remedied by the application o a pump and -waste- 
pipe to the cold cistern in which the condenser is submerged : the pump continually supplies cold 
water, which, by its comparative weight, has a tendency to sink to the bottom, and the waste- 
pipe, placed near the surface, lets the warm water escape, which, by its comparative lightness, 
ascends. Thus, by these arrangements, the method of condensation becomes complete.— i?/-. 
Lardner on the St^am-engine. 



EVERY BOY HIS 0Wi7 MANUEACTTJEER. 31 

two together and drill a hole longitudinally through C and across D. 
The cock is then complete. It may be cheaper to purchase the cocks 
already made, at any gas-fixture or hardware establishment, but these 
directions are intended for those who cannot readily avail themselves of 
this accommodation. E is the safety-valve with its parts. F shows the 
form of the seat of the valve, which has a hole drilled through it, as 
seen by the dotted lines, and beveled at the top to receive the piece 
marked G-. Place these together and seat them by grinding, as in the 
case of the gauge-cock. Make a score in the small portion of G- to re- 
ceive the edge of the safety-valve lever. This lever is merely a light 
bar with a hole in each end, one end to be attached to a stud, or 
fulcrum, secured to the top of the boiler by soldering, and the other 
to a light spring on the side of the boiler with an adjusting nut at the 
top, or it supports a hook on which weights may be suspended. These 
described, two of the most important points relating to the boiler may be 
understood — the gauge, for ascertaining the height of the water; and the 
safety-valve, the means of regulating the steam-pressure. 

The cylinder of the engine is a piece of brass tubing, 2^ inches long 
and ^ inch internal diameter, ground out true. The piston is a disk of 
brass, I inch thick, with a wire soldered to its centre as the piston-rod. 
On ojjposite sides of the cylinder, near the top, are soldered two screwed 
pieces of wire designed to hold the cylinder end and stuf&ng-box combined, 
in place. 

Fig. 2 is a diagram of the cylinder and connections; A is the cylinder 
and the path of the crank-pin. Three holes are seen near the bottom of 
the cylinder, with an arc describing the oscillation of the cylinder, the 
upper hole being the centre of the circle of which the arc is a segment. 
On the side of the bottom ofthe cylinder is soldered a piece of brass, about 
1-16 of an inch thick and f by 9-16 inch area. The lower hole is drilled 
through a plate into a cylinder near its bottom, the upper hole f of an 
inch above it and through the plate only, a small hole slightly indenting 
the cylinder being made exactly opposite without piercing the shell. 
Another piece of brass, i inch thick, f wide, and f long, has a hole drilled 
through it 9-16 of an inch from the bottom,.-and that receives a bit of wire 
soldered in and projecting 1-16 of an inch. On a f inch radius from thio 
point, 3-32 of an inch from the centre line, drill two holes — that on the 
right hand entirely through the piece and that on the left about half-way 
through, meeting one drill from the bottom. The inner faces of this 
plate and that on the cylinder must be fitted smoothly together. These 
constitute the valve faces, or valve and seat ofthe engine. 

The pillars or supports ofthe wheel, shaft, and crank, are rods of brass 
or iron, 3|- inches high, with holes near the top for the shaft. At the 
height of 9-16 of an inch from the bottom, a hole is drilled and tapped, 
through which a pointed screw is passed, the point of which enters the 



32 EA^EET BOY HIS OWX MAXUEACTUKEE. 

hole in the side of the cylinder opposite that on which the plate is solder- 
ed. The thicker and separate plate is soldered to the top of the boiler, 
the side having both holes being placed inward or next the cylinder, and 
the left-hand hole meeting that through the bottom being directly over 
one through the top of the boiler. Place the faced side of the cylinder 
against the fixed plate, the projecting pin of which enters the hole in the 
cylinder-plate, and the pointed screw through the pillar engaging with 
the opposite hole in the side of the cylinder. The pillar is soldered in 
this position to the top of the boiler, and the other is similarly secured at 
the distance of about one inch. The cylinder bottom is 'a thin plate of 
brass soldered on. When the crank and piston are at their lowest points, 
the latter should not quite reach the lower hole in the cylinder. The 
wheel may be of iron, about 4i inches diameter, to be obtained at any 
iron foundry, or to be cast of lead, or lead and tin. The gauge-cock may 
be attached 3i inches from the bottom, and if filled to this height the boil- 
er will furnish steam for half an hour's safe running. The boiler may be 
filled by the safety-valve. To start the engine, set the boiler on a stove 
or range, or place it over a lamp. The first is the preferable mode, as 
being more cleanly. 

An engine of this fashion need not cost much, and its construction 
would alTord useful employment to boys in town or country, and be a 
source of pleasant and profitable amusement during winter evenings. 



HOW TO MAKE A WOEKTXa MODEL OF A LOCOMOTIVE 

ENGINE. 

The history of the Jocomotive is brief, but lull of interest ; and we feel 
sure that a short account of those early days will not be unwelcome to 
our readers. 

-The illustrious Watt, who may justly be regarded as the Father of the 
Steam Engine, appears to have been the first to conceive the idea of ap- 
plying steam to the propulsion of wheeled carriages. At that time, 
however, Watt was so actively and profitably engaged in the construc- 
tion and improvement of his stationary engines, that he soon relinquish- 
ed all thoughts of the locomotive, although he had obtained a patent for 
his invention. 

Watt's locomotive, as described in the specification of his patent, was 
to have a boiler formed of staves of wood, bound with iron hoops ; an 
iron furnace was to be fixed within this boiler, so that it might be nearly 
surrounded by water. The boiler and cylinder were to be secured on a 
carriage having wheels, worked by a piston of seven inches diameter and 
twelve inches stroke. Instead of a crank, a peculiar motion called sun 
•Sind planet wheels wsis substituted. This arrangement consisted of two 



EVERY BOY HIS OWX MAXUFACTUEER. 33 

cogged or toothed wheels, one of which was fixed on the same axle as 
the wheels supporting the carriage, the other being made to revolve 
round it by the engagement of their cogs or teeth. The end of the con- 
necting-rod, which usually actuates the ordinary crank, was secured to 
the centre of the revolving- wheel, so that the reciprocating motion de- 
rived from the piston might cause the carriage- wheels to revolve and 
propel the vehicle. 

William Murdock, who was a friend and assistant of Watt, turned 
his attention to the locomotive, and soon constructed a working-model, 
which gave the first .promise of the future success that has now been 
realized. Murdock's little engine was a mere toy, and such as any oi 
our readers could easily construct. The diminutive locomotive had a 
copper boiler with an oblique flue within it, and was heated by a spirit- 
lamp. The piston had a stroke of two inches, and the cylinder was three- 
quarters of an inch in diameter. The cylinder was fixed on the top of the 
boiler, the piston-rod being attached to one end of a vibrating beam, 
which was jointed at the other extremity to an upright or pillar secured 
to the platform of the carriage. A connecting-rod was suspended from 
the beam within a short distance of the piston-rod, and actuated the 
crank-axle in the usual manner. The slide-valve was cylindrical, 
and derived its motion from the beam, which struck two projections 
or tappets which were formed on the valve-spindle. The plat- 
form or carriage was supported upon three wheels, two of which 
were for driving, and one for guiding the machine. The driving-wheels 
were nine and a-half inches in diameter, and placed a little in advance 
of the boiler. The guiding- wheel, which was four and three-quarter 
inches in diameter, was situated at the front end of the platform, and its 
position could be varied by a suitable handle or lever, so as to direct the 
vehicle. 

An amusing anecdote is related respecting this first attempt at steam 
propulsion, and small as the machine undoubtedly was, it had ample 
power, and acquired sufficient speed to enable it to outstrip its owner. 

One night, after Murdock had returned from his duties at the mine in 
Eedruth, Cornwall, where he had charge of the mining engines, he de- 
termined to make a practical trial of the capabilities of his little locomo- 
tive. The success of the experiment would of course be much influenced 
by the nature of the ground over which the miniature engine had to 
travel, and as it was formed to run upon rails, which were then unknown, 
it was a matter of considerable difficulty to find a sufficiently smooth and 
level track. After some cogitation, our hero remembered that a narrow 
pathway leading to the church was kept rolled like a garden-walk and 
would therefore be the most favorable trial-ground he could select. The 
night was dark, and he sallied out alone with his engine, lighted the 
lamp, and impatiently awaited the formation of sufficient steam to set 



34 EYEKY BOY HIS OTYN MANUFACTURER. 

bis ingenious little machine in motion. He was not long kept in suspense 
as to the success of his labor, which exceeded bis most sanguine expec- 
tation. Off started the locomotive, with the inventor in full chase. He 
was soon left far behind, and was only guided in bis pursuit by the 
friendly glimmer of the lamp. Shortly after this he heard distant 
shouts, as of some one in distress ; but as it was quite dark, he was una- 
ble to see the person who was so lustily calling for assistance. As he 
drew near he found that the cries for aid proceeded from the worthy 
pastor, who, going into town on business, was met on this lonely road by 
w^hat he called "a fiery monster," whom he subsequently declared he 
took for the Evil One in jjropria persona. 

The events just recorded took place about the year 1784, and, contrary 
to what might have been expected, no further improvement was made 
in steam-locomotion until 1802, when Eichard Trevithick constructed 
the first locomotive which could be regarded as a practical application 
of steam to the propulsion of wheeled carriages. A patent was obtained 
24th March, 1802, by Richard Trevithick and Andrew Vivian, of Corn- 
wall, for '^ methods of improving the construction of steam-engines, and 
their apphcation for driving carriages, and other purposes. 

The experimental engine, which was constructed according to their 
patent, was exhibited to the public in traversing the roadway near Euston 
Square, London. This engine was supported upon four wheels, like an 
ordinary carriage; the front pair were small and were used for guiding, 
and the engine was indirectly connected with the axle of the large 
wheels in the rear. The condensing apparatus, which formed so impor- 
tant a part of Watt's engines, was omitted in Trevithick's locomotive, 
which was made on the high-pressure principle. In this arrangement 
the steam, after driving the piston from one end of the cylinder to the 
other, was allowed to escape into the atmosphere, thereby dispensing 
with enormous weight and bulk, which would have deprived the machine 
of the greater portion of its useful effect as a locomotive. The engine 
was provided with one cylinder, which was placed horizontally, and en- 
closed with the boiler and furnace in an iron casing, situated behind the 
axle of the driving-wheels. The connecting-rod was not in communica- 
tion with this axle, but actuated an independent shaft on which the 
crank was formed. The motion of the crank-axle was imparted to the 
driving-axle by a pair of toothed wheels, one on each axle. The valves 
for regulating the admission and escape of the steam to and from the 
cylinder were opened and closed by rods which were set in motion by the 
crank-axle, which also worked a force-pump for supplying the boiler 
with water, and wrought a pair of bellows by which the fire was urged 
with sufficient intensity to generate the large quantity of steam required 
by the engine. 

This experimental engine, which was evidently originally made to run 



36 EYEKY EOT HIS GOVTS' MA^TTACXrEEE. 

on the ordinary roads, was followed in 1804 by another, which differed 
from it in some respects, and was designed for traveling on an iron tram- 
road at Merthyi' Tydfil, in South Wales. The cylinder of this latter 
engine was eight inches in diameter, and the piston had a stroke of four 
feet six inches. The boiler was cylindrical, with flat ends, and was trav- 
ersed by a bent or return-flue. Tlie flue was an iron tube, in sbape 
resembling the letter U, and both ends were secured to one extremity of 
the boiler, one being fitted with furnace-bars and door, while the other 
communicated with the chimney or funnel. The cylinder was fixed ver- 
tically, and close to one end of the boiler, in which it was rather more 
than half immersed. This engine drew several trucks, which were loaded 
with ten tons of bar-iron, and attained a speed of five miles an hour, for 
a distance of nine miles, consuming only the water contained in the 
boiler at starting. In this eng-ine the bellows were omitted, and the 
required draught through the fire was maintained by ejecting the waste 
steam from the cylinder into the chimney. 

After this notable improvement, no very considerable alteration or 
advance was made in the construction of the locomotive until the year 
ISll, when a patent was granted to Mr. John Blenkinsop for ^' certain 
mechanical means" of conveying coals, etc. This patent also included 
an arrangement for obviating the inconvenience which arose from the 
wheels sometimes slipping round without advancing the machine. It 
was proposed to fix a toothed wheel on the axle of the engine, so that 
its teeth might engage in those of a rack which was to be bolted to the 
inner edge of one of the rails. Other schemes were devised, amongst 
which may be mentioned the endless chain and the automatic legs, but 
they were all wanting in simplicity, and could therefore be regarded only 
as ingenious. The rack, though the least complicated, was far from sat- 
isfactory, as the teeth were very subject to fracture, and the spaces be- 
tween them were very apt to become filled with gi'avel and stones, 
which might occasion serious jolts and jars to the machinery. Happily, 
all these diflSculties vanished almost as quickly as they appeared, and it 
was found that by distributing the weight of the engine so as to throw a 
greater load on the driving-wheels, they could be made to bite or adhere 
to the rails sufficiently for all ordinary purposes. 

We are now rapidly approaching an important epoch in the history of 
the locomotive. We have seen how the engine was successively im- 
proved as it passed through the hands of Trevithick and Blenkinsop; 
but it had not as yet any semblance of the locomotive of modern times. 
This great advance was reserved for a master hand; and it was not 
until the celebrated George Stephenson appeared in the field that the 
locomotive assumed its present proportions and enormous power. 

Stephenson's first locomotive, which was made at Kilhngworth Colliery 
in 1814, somewhat resembled Bleukinsop's engine in form and general 



EVERY BOY HIS OW^ MAITTJFACTURER. 37 

arrangement. It had two cylinders, each twenty inches in diameter 
and two feet stroke. The cyhnders were fixed vertically, and partly 
within the boiler. The boiler, which was eight feet long and thirty-four 
inches diameter, had one internal flue of twenty inches diameter, which 
traversed it from end to end. The motion derived from the pistons was 
transmitted to the axles of the driving-wheels by means of gearing. 
Two independent axles were placed between those of the driving-wheels, 
and on the same level. These axles were driven by cranks, which were 
actuated by connecting-rods in the usual manner. The gearing con- 
sisted of five toothed wheels, two of which were two feet diameter, and 
three each one foot diameter. The large wheels were fixed on the driv- 
ing-axles, and engaged the teeth of two of the smaller wheels, which 
were placed on the independent axles. The remaining one-foot wheel was 
situated between its fellows, and served to equalize their action and 
maintain the cranks at right angles to each other. The gearing being 
two to one, it is evident that the cranks would make two revolutions to 
one of the driving-wheels. It is reported that this engine ascended an 
incline of one in four-hundred and fifty, drawing eight loaded carriages, 
the gross weight being thirty tons. The speed attained was about four 
miles per hour. The gearing occasioned considerable noise and jarring, 
which increased with the wear. Mr. Stephenson, with his friend, 
Mr. Dodds, devised a plan which superseded the gearing, and worked 
much more satisfactorily. Instead of independent crank-axles, a pin 
was fixed in one of the arms of each of the driving-wheels, and the con- 
necting-rods transmitted the power directly to them. An endless chain 
passed over suitable pulleys on the driving-axles, by which means the 
pins in the wheels were retained in their proper relative positions. 

For several years after the improvements just recorded, the locomotive 
remained almost unchanged, and the substitution of outside coupling- 
rods for the endless chain, and the application of steel springs between 
the carriage and axles, were the only alterations worthy of special men- 
tion. 

It was not until 1829, when the opening of the Liverpool and Man- 
chester Railway created a fresh stimulus, and pointed out the necessity 
for higher speed, that the locomotive cast aside its yoke as a mere 
drudge-horse and appeared on the course, proclaiming itself to be a 
^^Rocket, " a '^ Meteor, " a ^^ Hurricane," or other representative of speed 
and power. It was evident that a colliery-engine, traveling at a rate of 
from four to five miles an hour, would be quite unsuited for passenger 
trafSc ; and so little was expected of the locomotive, that the directors 
of the new railway proposed to work their trains by means of chains or 
ropes, which were to be set in motion by stationary engines. 

About this time, George Stephenson constructed two lOcoraotives for 
the Lyons and St. Etienne Railway, of which M. Seguinwasthe engi 



38 EVEKY BOY UlS OWN MAXUFACTURER. 

nccr. At a trial of these engines a speed of only four miles per hour was 
obtained, and M. Seguin determined to introduce an improvement of 
bis own into several new engines lie intended to make after the Stephen- 
son model. The evaporative power of the locomotive boiler was very 
deficient, and as the boiler could not conveniently be enlarged, another 
plan for extending the heating -surfiice, and thereby increasing the sup- 
ply of steam, was devised by this ingenious Frenchman. 

Instead of conducting the heated air and other products of combus- 
tion through one large flue-tube, M. Seguin substituted a number of 
comparatively small tubes, which were introduced between the furnace 
and the chimney. The hot air was thus divided into streamlets, and 
was effectually deprived of its heat by the water in which the tubes were 
immersed. The heating-surface by this means was enormously mcreased, 
and it was expected that the steam supply would be proportionably 
augmented. It was found, however, that the draught was materially 
retarded by the resistance which the air encountered in its passage 
through the tubes. To remedy this defect, M. Seguin employed a cir-" 
cular fan, which was only partially successful. M. Pelletan subsequently 
suggested the application of the steam-jet, or blast, which proved the 
crowning point of an invention that proclaimed a high rate of speed to be 
practicable : and even in these days of rapid improvement this plan has 
been preserved in its original integrity. 

In the spring of 1829, the directors of the Liverpool and Manchester 
Railway offered a premium of five hundred pounds for the best locomo- 
tive, to run on their line. It was stipulated that the engine should con- 
sume its own smoke ; that the pressure of the steam should not exceed 
fifty pounds on the square inch ; and that it should draw a load equal 
to at least three times its own weight, at a speed of not less than ten 
miles per hour; that the engine and boiler should be supported on 
springs, and not weigh more than four and a-half tons, if placed on four 
wheels ; that the height to the top of the chimney should be hmited 
to fifteen feet. Several other conditions of minor importance were 
advanced, but it is unnecessary to record them here. 

The following October was the time appointed for the trial. Three 
engines Tvere entered for competition; namely, the Rocket, by Mr. 
Stephenson ; the Sanspareil, by Hackworth ; and the Novelty, by Messrs. 
Braithwaite and Ericson. 

The ''race-course" was a level piece of railroad between Liverpool 
and Manchester, near a place called Rainhill. The distance between 
the two stations was a mile and a-half, and the engine was to traverse 
this distance, backward and forward, ten times, which made altogether 
a journey of thirty miles. The Rocket performed this journey twice in 
the most satisfactory manner. The first trip occupied two hours, four- 
teen minutes and eight seconds ; and the second run was made in two 



EVERY BOY HIS OWX MAXUEACTUEER. 39 

hours, six minutes ana .orty-nine seconds. Tlie speed varied at differ- 
ent parts of the journey, and the greatest speed ever attained was a httle 
over twenty-nine miles an hour. 

The Rocket was declared winner of the race, oth the other engines 
having failed at an early stage of the contest. The Sanspareil performed 
the distance between the stations eight times, traveling twenty-two and 
a half miles in one hour, thirty-seven minutes and sixteen seconds. The 
greatest velocity to which this engine attained was a little under twenty- 
three miles an hour. The Novelty, after passing twice between the 
stations, was unable to proceed, owing to a serious leak in the boiler. 

The Rocket's success was attributed mainly to the admirable construc- 
tion of its boiler, which was made on M. Seguin's multitubular principle. 
In this engine the tubes were twenty-five iii number, and three inches 
diameter. In subsequent boilers the heating-surface was greatly in- 
creased, by augmenting the number of tubes and reducing their diameter. 
Some of the modern locomotives are furnished with from one hundred and 
twenty to one hundred and fift^ tubes ; and on the Great Western Rail- 
way even a larger number is employed. When the number is very great 
the diameter is unduly diminished, and the tubes are liable to be choked 
by pieces of coke which are drawn into them by the violence of the 
draught. 

Failing space obhges us to bring this brief sketch of the early days of 
the locomotive to a close. On some future occasion an opportunity may 
perhaps be afforded us of investigating the improvements which have 
taken place of late years. 

We will now turn our attention to the Model Locomotive, a longitu- 
dinal elevation or side-view of which is shown in Fig. 1. Most of our readers 
will at once perceive that our little '^ fiery monster," like William Mur- 
dock's, can claim only a very distant relationship to a railway locomotive, 
either in shape or the mechanical arrangement of its parts. If any of our 
young readers were to ask why we did not tell them how to make the mod- 
el of a ''real locomotive," our answer would be, '^ because you could not 
succeed in such an undertaking, unless you were provided with requisite 
tools, and were well versed in their use." Even the simple toy we have 
selected cannot be constructed without the aid of a turning-lathe, which, 
is indispensable for the true formation of many of the circular portions of 
the work. 

We will begin by naming the several parts shown in Fig. 1. A, A, is 
the boiler, in which the steam is generated for supplying the cylinders ; 
B, the funnel for carrying off the smoke and other products of combus- 
tion arising from the lamp ; D, the steam-chest or dome in wbich the 
steam collects, previously to being used in the cylinders, one of which is 
seen at C ; E, the safety-valve which allows the surplus steam to escape ; 
g, the gauge-cock, for trying the height of the water in the boiler; L, L, 



40 EYEEY BOY HIS OW]^ MAKUFACTUREE. 

the framing for carrying the boiler, cylinders, etc ; F, is one of the lead- 
ing-wheels; G, is one of the driving-wheels j and H, is one of the trail- 
iug-wheels ; I, I, are two of the wheels for carrying the tender, T, which 
serves as a reservoir or tank for the spirits of wine; 0, 0, is the lamp; 
and P, is the pipe which conducts the spirits to it from the tender ; R, 
the handle for opening and closing the communication between the boiler 
and the cylinders. 

The driving-wheels, shown perspectively in Fig. 2, are2f inches diam- 
eter, measuring over the flanges, /, / , which run between the rails, and 
keep the engine in its place ; the diameter of the tires, t, t, is 2f inches, 
and these latter support the engine and roll upon the surface of the rails. 
The width of the tire, including the thickness of the flange, may vary 
from three-sixteenth inch fo I inch. The bosses, b, b, are | inch diameter, 
and should be a little thicker than the width of the wheel, including both 
the tire and flange. The inner faces of the bosses, at b, must stand a trifle 
higher than the general level of the inside faces of the flanges, to keep the 
latter clear of the frame or carriage of the engine. The axle, A, A, should 
be made of a piece of iron or steel wire, a little nnder i inch diameter. 
As the inner faces of the bosses are required to be 3i inch apart, the 
axle must be about 3% inches long, to allow, say, i inch at each end 
for fixing in the bosses of the wheels. The axle may be screwed into the 
bosses, or, if preferred, it may be driven tightly into holes of the correct 
size ; there is, however, some danger of the wheels becoming loose, if the 
latter plan be adopted. The crank- pins, P, P, must be made of material 
similar, both in size and quality, to the axle. These pins should be f inch 
long, measuring from the face of the bosses to the inner sides of the beads, 
and they must be screwed into the bosses respectively, and at the same 
distance from the centres of the wheels. The stroke of the pistons will be 
f inch, consequently the centres of the holes for the crank-pins must be f 
inch from the centres of the axles. The holes must not be opposite each 
other, but at right angles, in order that one crank-pin may be in its high- 
est or lowest position when its neighbor is midway between the highest 
and lowest points of its revolution. By this arrangement, only one of the 
cranks can be on the dead-centre at a time ; so that when one piston 
reaches either end of its stroke, and its crank arrives at the dead-centre, 
the other piston is at half-stroke or half-way up the cylinder, and its crank, 
which may be either in the highest or lowest position, is most favorably 
situated for imparting motion to the wheels. In Fig. 1, the crank-pin 
for the cylinder, C, is in its highest position, and the cylinder, which is 
made on the oscillating principle, is inclined, to suit the angle it is con- 
strained to assume in the absence of a connecting-rod. If we could see 
the cylinder on the opposite side, we should find it level, or horizontal, 
and its crank-pin would be in a line with the centre of the cylinder. 

In Fig. 3, the carrying- wheels for the engine and tender are shown. 



EVERY EOT HIS OWN MANUFACTUKEE. 41 

The tires are 1^ inch and the flanges f inch diameter ; the width being 
the stime as in the driving-wheels. The axle must be similar in every 
respect to the driving-axle. 

A perspective view of the framing, etc., is given in Fig. 4. The sides 
of the frame, L, L, are separate castings, and are connected by screws, s, 
s, to the foot-plate, I, at the back, and to the bufier-beam, B, at the front 
end. If we were to take a section through the frame between the horns, 
F, Gr, H, which rest on the axles of the wheels, we should find that it 
resembles the letter L in shape. The plates or flanges,/,/, which are 
solid with the sides, L, L, and form the right angles or L shape, impart 
great lateral or side-stiffness to the frame. One of the cylinder-bosses is 
seen at C ; the regulating-handle at R, and the screw or union for the steam- 
pipe at TJ. We shall speak farther respecting these parts presently. 

Fig. 5 is a side-view ; Fig. 9, a plan ; and Fig. 7, a section of one side- 
frame. The drawing is made to half the actual size, but the principal full- 
size dimensions are given. The section, S, S, is taken through the 
centre of one of the horns of the carrying-wheels ; a section at the driv- 
ing-wheel would be similar to, but shorter than, the others. Great care 
must be taken when marking the holes in the horns for the axles, other- 
wise the wheels will not bear equally on the rails, and the engine will 
either be poised on the driving-wheels, or the latter, by being out of 
contact with the rails, will spin round without advancing the engine. 

Half the diameter of the wheel, added to the length of the horn, 
measuring from the top of the frame to the centre of the hole for the 
axle, must give the same result in all the wheels, otherwise the engine 
cannot rest fairly on the rails. 

For instance, the diameter of the tires of the carrying-wheels is one 
inch and a half; take half this, or three-quarters of an inch, and add 
it to one inch and three-quarters, the length of the carrying-horn, and 
the result will be two inches and a half from the surface of the rail 
to the top of the engine-frame. Half the diameter of the driving-wheels 
is one inch and five-sixteenths, which, added to one inch and three-six- 
teenths, the length of the driving-horn, equals two inches and a half, 
the same as the other. If the flanges of all the wheels project the same 
amount beyond the tires, the engine will be able to run upon them 
without rails over a level floor. 

The side-frames. Figs. 5, 6, and 7, ought to be cast in brass ; and very 
few, if any, of our readers can do .this ; but they can make a model or 
pattern in wood, from which a brass-founder can cast any number that 
may be required. The pattern must be made a very little thicker and 
larger than the frames are to be when finished, to allow for filing and 
pohshing. It will be better to cast the frames without any holes, which 
latter can be wrought more satisfactorily at a more advanced stage of the 
work.. The slot, R, for the regulating-handle, and the gap. A, B; for 



EVERY BOY HIS OWN MANUEACTUREE. 43 

the foot-plate, can easily be cut out in the brass ; therefore the flange in 
the pattern may be solid, and extend from one end to the other. 

The holes in the horns, for the axles, must, of course, be drilled in the 
brass after the frames have been filed smooth on the outside ; the inside 
may be left rough from the sand. 

The buffer-beam, which is placed between the side-frame, at the front 
end of the engine, is seen in Fig. 8. This part may be cast from a pat- 
tern, or it can be made of hard-rolled sheet-brass. The width between 
the pieces, W,W, must be as much under the external width of the side- 
frames as the thickness of the latter ; the outside width of the frame is 
three inches, and if the sides be each one-sixteenth of an inch thick, 
the width, W, W, must be two inches and seven-eighths. The depth of 
the buffer -beam should be the same as that of the frames, but its thickness 
must be nearly one-eighth of an inch, otherwise it will not be sufQcieutly 
stiff. The buffers, B,B, of course, are only ornamental ; and not being 
fitted with springs, like those employed in actual practice, cannot miti- 
gate the violence of a shock occasioned by the engine running against 
any unyielding object. In our model, the buffers are little knots of 
brass, which may be turned in the lathe to suit the fancy, and they 
must be formed with a small stem or shank at one end, by which they 
can be riveted to the buffer-beam. 

The foot-plate. Fig." 9, must likewise be cast from a wooden pattern. 

The length, a, b, must be the same as w, to, in Fig. 8, so that the 
frames may be the same distance apart at both ends. The parts, a, a, 
J), h, lie between the frames, and are secured to them by four screws, 5, 
s, s, s, two on each side, as may be seen in Figs. 1 and 4. A platen, e, e, 
represented by dotted lines, is a means of fastening the boiler, which is 
secured to it 1^ two small screws,/,/; similar screws should be provided 
at the buffer-beam. 

The hand-rails, one of which is shown separately in Fig. 10, are more 
ornamental than useful in a model, and our readers" may dispense with 
them, as they do not in any way affect the working of the engine. If 
provided, the rail may be cut out of a piece of sheet-brass, a little 
more than one-eighth of an inch in thickness. The four edges of two 
pieces of brass, each three inches long by one inch and a half wide, ought 
to be filed square to one another, after which, the bars must be pitch- 
ed, or measured out with a pair of compasses. The space between the 
bars can be cut out by first drilling several holes close together, and 
then finishing with a small file. The rails are secured to the top 
flanges of the side-frames by two small screws, s, s, one at each end. 

Fig. 11, is a section -, Fig. 12, an elevation ; and Fig. 13, a plan of one 
of the cylinders. Those parts which correspond in the several views are 
indicated by the same letter, to avoid needless repetition. The body of 
the cylinder, C, is five-eighths of an inch diameter outside, and the bore 



44 EYERT BOY HIS OWN MANUFACTUEER. 

is half an inch diameter. The length of the cylinder, measuring to the 
faces of the flanges,/, /,is one inch and a quarter, and the diameter of the 
flanges is seven-eighths of an inch. The cover, H, which is toward the 
the crank, is fitted with a screw-cap, g, called, the gland, which com- 
presses a small quantity of lamp-cotton packing around the piston-rod, - 
K, to prevent the steam escaping past it. It would be very difficult to 
make the piston-rod to fit the hole in the cover so closely that no steam 
should escape, and yet not occasion an injurious amount of friction. 

The socket, S, into which the gland, g, screws, is called the stuffing- 
box. When we wish to pack the piston-rod, it is only necessary to un- 
screw the gland, slip it along the rod, and wind a little soft lamp-cotton 
round the latter, about sufficient to three parts fill the stuffing-box ; 
then press the packing into the box,, adding a few drops of oil, and screw 
the gland down about two or three turns. Care must be taken not to 
compress the packing too much at first, otherwise the engine will work 
very stiffly, and it is always easy to tighten the gland at any time when 
steam or water escapes past the rod. Both covers, H and I, are secured 
to the cylinder-flanges by three screws in each. The covers and flanges 
must rest so fairly in contact, that a thin layer of red-lead paint, smeared 
over the faces of the flanges, may be sufficient to prevent the escape of 
steam when the covers are fixed by the screws. 

The steam is admitted to, and escapes from the cylinder by the pas- 
sages or ports, L and M, seen in Figs. 11 and 12. These passages, which 
are circular, must be drilled in the nozzU, N, N, and in the face, F, 
which are cast solid with the cyhnder. Considerable care must be taken 
when drilling these holes not to carry them too far, or the cylinder will 
be spoilt. It will be safer to drill the holes in the nozzle first, taking 
the precaution to mark the depth of the hole upon the sh#nk of the drill, 
so that you may know when the correct depth has been reached. The 
holes in the face, F, must be drilled at right angles to those in the noz- 
zle, and it may be advisable to mark their depth on the drill, to lessen 
the danger of breaking into the cylinder in the event of the nozzle-holes 
not being sufficiently deep to insure their junction with the former. 
The holes, L and M, on the face, F, must be exactly in a line with the 
centre of the cylinder, and also at the same distance from the centre of 
the stem, S. The dotted circle, which is three-eighths of an inch diame- 
ter, passes through the centres of the holes ; consequently their centres 
are three-sixteenths of an inch distant from the centre of the stem, S. 

The piston, P, is a solid piece of brass, five-sixteenths of an inch thick, 
and it may be turned so accurately that it will fit the cylinder without 
packing ; but, unless the work be very exact, it would be better to turn a 
groove in the cicumference of the piston, for lamp-cotton packing. The 
rod, E, is screwed both ends, one extremity being engaged by the pis- 
ton, and the other by the cap, D, which actuates the crank-pin. The 



EYERT BOY HIS OVH^ MAXTJFACTTJKER. 45 

piston is supposed to be ascending the cylinder ; and the arrow, M, shows 
the course of the steam as it flows from the boiler under the piston to 
urge it forward ; the arrow, L, represents the waste steam escaping as it 
is displaced by the rising piston. When the piston reaches the top of the 
cylinder the action will be reversed, and the steam will enter the port at 
which it is now escaping, and make its exit where it is now being admit- 
ted. TVe shall consider this action more fully hereafter. 

A longitudinal section of the boiler is given in Fig. 14, and a trans- 
verse section in Fig. 15. In Fig. 14, the boiler is supposed to be cut in half 
in the direction of its length j and in Fig. 15, the end in front of the fun- 
nel is removed. The barrel of the boiler, A, A, is two inches and three- 
quarters in diameter, seven inches and three-eighths in length, and lit- 
tle more than one thirty- second part of an inch in thickness. This part 
may be made of a piece of brass tube, or of sheet copper; but very few 
of our amateur readers will be able to construct this boiler satisfactorily, 
unless they have had considerable practice in the art of working sheet 
metals. 

The funnel, B, is a piece of brass tube, three-quarters of an inch in 
diameter and two inches and a half in length. The upper end is formed 
with a bell-shaped mouth, and the base next the boiler is ornamented 
by a moulding, M, which is added as a separate piece. The funnel is not 
attached to the boiler, but is simply slipped over a tube or flue, H, the 
outside diameter of which exactly fits the inside of the chimney, B. The 
flue, H, must be firmly soldered to the fire-box, F, F, and also to the 
boiler, otherwise either steam or water will ^^be sure to escape, and oc- 
casion much trouble. 

The fire-box, as may be seen by referring to Fig. 15, consists of two in- 
clined plates, which extend from one end of the boiler to the other ; a 
piece of sheet copper, about four inches wide, seven inches and a quar- 
ter in length, and one thirty-second part of an inch in thickness, must be. 
bent into the shape, a, h, c, a, d,f, Fig. 15. The sides of the fire-box, a, 
b, a, d, are each one inch and a half wide, and, h, c, d,f, are about half 
an inch deep. This box must be strongly soldered along the seams, h and 
d, and also to the end-plates of the boiler. A, A. 

The steara-dome, D, is made of cast brass, and is provided with a 
flange, which is curved to fit the cylindrical form of the boiler. The 
dome is one inch diameter, and one inch and three-eighths high. One 
end of the steam-jjipe, S, S, rises into the dome to take the dryest steam 
for the cylinders ; and in order to check, as far as possible, the entrance 
of water into the pipe, its upper end is closed, and a number of small 
holes are drilled round the sides, through which the steam is strained 
and separated from the watery particles it holds in suspension. 

As the steam-pipe passes through the top of the fire-box, It must be 
soldered thereto ^ otherwise the water would escape. The diameter of 



FiffJl 



Ticf.W 



f 


|«9 

m 


































I 


m 



iiruJiii 




EVERY BOY HIS OTVN" MAXUFACTUEER. 47 

the Steam-pipe should not exceed one-quarter of an inch ; it may be either 
coi^per or brass tube. The union, u, connects the steam-pipe to the 
socket, V, Fig. 4, where the steam branches to the right and left to sup- 
ply the cylinders. 

At E, Fig. 14, the safety-valve is shown in section, and it will be seen 
that the valve is pressed down by a spiral spring, which is made of hard 
brass wire. The pressure of the spring may be Increased by screwing 
down, and mitigated by unscrewing the cap, c, which must be altogether 
removed when we wish to withdraw the valve to supply the boiler with 
water. If the valve cover a hole about one-eighth of an inch diameter, 
it will be sufficiently large ; and if the spring keep the valve down with a 
force of about one-quarter of a pound, the steam must acquire a pressure 
of nearly twenty pounds on the square inch before it will raise the valve 
and escape. 

The water should never be allowed to subside below the level, W, W. 
otherwise there is a danger of the top of the fire-box being left dry. If 
the joints of the boiler be soft-soldered they will give way if the water 
be suffered to boil too low ; but if the separate portions be braized 
together, timely notice of the deficiency of water will be given by the 
rapidly faihug steam before the hard solder begins to melt. 

When charging the boiler with water, the gauge-cock, <;, must be open- 
ed : and when the water trickles from it in a fine stream, the boiler may 
be considered as sufficiently full. The cock must frequently be opened 
while the engine is at work, and directly steam, unmixed with water, es- 
capes from it, the lamp must be extinguished. This precaution is abso- 
lutely necessary ; for, although the joints may not fail, the sides of the 
fire-box, if over-heated, are very liable to be distorted by the pref^sure of 
the steam, and may perhaps collapse and be totally destroyed. 

Fig. 16 is a sectional elevation of the tender and spirit-lamp. The 
tender is something like a box, minus one end and the cover. Our ten- 
der must be four inches and a half in length, three inches in width, the 
same as the engine-frame, and about two inches and a quarter deep. 
By inspecting Fig. 16, it will be seen that the tender has a second or 
false bottom, &, &, and the back is made in the same manner. An inch 
space exists between the two bottoms, which serves as a spirit-tank, from 
which the lamp, O, draws it supply through the pipe, P, by means of the 
lamp-cotton wick, W, W, W. The lamp, 0, is four inches and a half in 
length, two inches and a half in width, three-quarters of an inch in depth, 
and is furnished with three burners, f, t, t, which consist of short pieces 
of brass tube about a quarter of an inch diameter. The second burner 
is not placed quite in the centre between the two external ones, in order 
to escape the axle of the driving-wheels. The lamp is connected by a 
union, d, to the pipe, P, which is about three-eighths of an inch diameter 
inside, to afford sufficient room for the cotton-wick or syphon, which 



48 EVERY BOY HIS OWN MANTTFACTUEEE. 

must not completely fill the pipe, otherwise its action will be imperfect. 
A rouna or square hole must be made In the bottom, h, h, or rather the 
top, of the spirit-tank, to enable us to introduce the wick; this hole should 
be covered with a hinged lid, Z, to prevent the Spirit evaporating with 
more than necessary rapidity. A small hole, however, should be made 
through the cover to admit a little air, which is required in order to main- 
tain an exact equilibrium of atmospheric pressure. If the cover did not 
fit closely, no hole would be needed, as the air would enter without ob- 
struction. A small hole must be made in the top of the lamp at 7i, for 
the same reason that wc have already given. When we wish to trim the 
lamp, the union, d, must be unscrewed, in order to separate the lamp from 
the tender. The cotton, W, W, can be drawn through the tube,P, with 
a piece of fine wire, which can be easily passed round the bend in the pipe. 
One end of the cotton dips into the spirit contained in the tender, and the 
other extremity is placed inside the lamp. The lamp-wicks should fit 
their tubes moderately tight, and should be sufficiently long to bear trim- 
ming two or three times. The ends must be cut with a pair of scissors 
every time the lamp is used. If the syphon -wick overcharge the lamp 
with spirit, a small plug of wood must be inserted in the mouth of the 
tube to check the capillary action of the cotton. 

The tender itself may be made of tin or zinc ; but more costly material 
such as copper or brass, is preferable. The lamp may be constructed of 
the same metal as the tender. Two light brass frames, one of which is 
seen at/,/,/. Fig. 16, are secured to the bottom of the tender, close to 
its eides, by which the wheels are attached in a similar manner to those 
of the engine. The tender-wheels are similar in every respect to the 
carrying* wheels of the engine, and must be precisely of the same gauge ^ 
By ^ 'gauge" is meant the distance existing between the outer faces of the 
flanges of a pair of wheels which are fixed on the same axle. This may 
be rendered clearer by turmng to Figs. 2 and 3, in which the space between 
g, g, represents the gauge. Now, as the outer faces of the flanges must 
run between the rails, and close to thoir inner edges, it Is absolutely nec- 
essary that all the wheels should be of uniform gauge. The gauge of 
the rails is made a little wider than that of the wheels, to afford the latter 
sufficient freedom; for, although the rails ought to be exactly the same 
distance apart, or the same gauge, throughout their entire extent, yet 
some slight discrepancy is sure to arise in practice. It is therefore neces- 
sary to allow a httle clearance between the rails and^the flanges to pre- 
vent any locking or jamming, which otherwise would be certain to occur. 

The tender is attached, or coupled, to the engine by means of a short 
brass strap, a, b, and a small thumb-screw, s, Fig. 16. One end of the 
strap, b, is fastened to the tender, but the other extremity, a, which is 
temporarily secured to the engine by the screw, 5, must be allowed a 
little liberty, to enable the engine and tender to pass round a curve ; a 



EVEEY BOY HIS OWN MAKUPACTUBEB. 49 

hole, c, is made and tapped in the foot-plate; Fig. 9, for the reception 
of the coupling-screw. 

We must now consider the apparatus for distributing the steam to the 
cyhnders. This arrangement is drawn full size, in order to show every 
part as distinctly as possible. Fig. 17 is a sectional elevation; Fig. 19 
is a plan partly in section ; and Fig. 18 is an end-view. The parts which 
correspond in the three representations are indicated by the same letter. 
The pipe, P, P, Figs. 17 and 19, is a solid brass casting, of which the 
parts, B, B, and A, form a portion. A hole, L, L, one-eighth of an inch 
diameter, is drilled from one end of the piece, P, P, to within about one- 
eighth of an inch of the other extremity, as may be seen in Fig. 17, after 
which the mouth of the hole is closed by a small brass plug, d, which ia 
screwed in and filed level. This plug must not exceed one-eighth of an 
inch in length, otherwise it will obstruct one or two holes which are drill- 
ed at right angles to the first. These holes are made at p, p, and are 
plugged at the mouth in a similar manner to the one just completed. 
The passage, L, L, is made much larger than those at p, p, because it 
is required to supply both the latter, which furnish their respective cylin- 
ders with steam. The hole, I, is the same size as L, L, and receives the 
steam directly from the steam-pipe, which is placed in connection with it 
by the union, U, Fig. 4. The course of steam as it flows from the hole, 
or short branch-pipe, I, is shown by the arrows in Figs. 17 and 19. A 
modification of an ordinary stop-cock, T, is provided at T, to open and 
close the communication between the steam-pipe and distributing-pipe, 
P, P. Instead of making a hole through the plug of the cock in the 
usual manner, a semicircular groove is cut about one-third round it, of 
sufficient width and depth to afford the steam a free passage. When this 
groove is so placed that it communicates both with the steam-pipe and 
the branch, I, Fig. 19, the steam can flow into the channel, L, L, and so 
reach the cylinder ; but when the blank part of the plug covers either, 
or both, of the holes, the passage of the steam is stopped. This is 
effected by the regulating-handle, R. 

In Fig. 17, one of the cylinders, C, is attached to its boss, B, and is 
placed vertically, in order to secure greater distinctness in the drawing, 
though the horizontal is its proper working-position, as may be seen in 
Fig. 1. The cylinder is held in its place by the stem, S (seen also in 
Fig. 11), which, passes, through the hole, H, in the centre of the boss. A 
thin brass plate, or washer, W, is then slipped over the end of the stem, 
which is formed as a screw, in order that it may be secured by the small 
nuts, 71, n, which also keep the face, F, of the cylinder in close contact 
with that of the boss. The first nut, or the one next the washer, W, 
must be screwed down sufficiently tight to cause the cylinder-face to 
bear against the face of the boss, without occasioning so much friction be- 
tween them as to interfere with the easy working of the engine ; the sec- 



EYERY BOY HIS 0W2T MANUFACTUREE. 51 

ond nut must be screwed up to the first, holding the first so that it may 
not turn when the second nut is jammed against it, as the cylinder would 
thus be set fast. Nuts employed in this way are called jam-nuts, or lock- 
nuts. This arrangement is frequently adopted in situations where a 
single nut would be apt to work loose. 

The cylinder-face, F, is made conica. around its circumference^ as 
may be seen in the section, Fig. 11. The conical or taper part should 
fit closely into a conical recess which is formed in the boss to receive it : 
this will be understood by referring to Fig. 17. It is not absolutely nec- 
essary that the circumference of the face, F, should touch the boss; 
but the face itself must rest fairly on the face of the boss, otherwise the 
engine will never work. If the faces and the circumferences can all be 
made to bear equally, so much the better ; but, to insure this, very accu- 
rate workmanship will be indispensable. If the conical positions are 
omitted, the circumference of the cylinder-face may bo quite plain, or of 
the same diameter throughout, and the boss will not then require the 
conical recess or the counter-sink, and therefore may be quite flat. An 
annular groove, r, r, Fig. 18, must be formed in the face of the boss, to 
enable the steam to enter and escape from the holes, or ports, L, M, in 
the cyhnder-face, Fig. 12. The width of this groove, or ring, must exact- 
ly equal the diameter of the holes, L, M, ; its depth should be about 
one-sixteenth of an inch, and its diameter must be sufficient Just to 
cover the holes. A hole, a, FigS. 17 and 18, is drilled into the short 
passage, p, leading from the distributing-pipe, P, P; and the groove, r^ 
r, is thus supplied with steam. 

If we were now to fix the cylinder to the boss, both the ports, L and 
M, would take steam simultaneously from the groove, r, r, Fig. 18, and, 
as the steam would press equally upon the opposite sides of the piston, 
it would remain stationary. This difficulty is surmounted by inserting 
in the groove two small brass plugs of the same diameter as the holes, L, 
M. These plugs must be so situated that a horizontal line may be 
drawn through their centres and that of the hole, H. The plugs must 
be filed or turned level with the general surface of the boss, otherwise 
the cylinder-face will not rest fairly upon it. 

If the cylinder be now put in its place, we shall find, on bringing it in- 
to the horizontal position, that the holes, L, M, are covered by the plugs, 
e,f; consequently, no steam can enter the cylinder ; but in any other posi- 
tion, one of the holes must either be above or below its respective plug. 
If the stuffing-box end of the cylinder be raised, the hole, L, will be 
placed above its plug, and the steam that issues from the passage. A, 
filling the upper half of the groove, r, r, will enter the cylinder. The op- 
posite extremity of the cylinder, of course, is correspondingly depressed ; 
the hole,- M, therefore, is now below its plug, and the waste steam es 
capes by the lower hali of the groove into the open air. The plugs, e,/. 



52 EVEEY BOY HIS OWl^ MAJ^TUFACTUIIER. 

must effectively cut off any communication between the upper or steam 
half of the groove and the lower or exhaust half. The waste steam that 
is discharged from the cylinder finds an outlet at E, which is a deep 
notch filed in the lower part of the boss for that purpose. 

The oscillation or swiveling of the cylinder on its centre, or stem, s, 
Figs. 11 and 17, causes the ports, L and M, to communicate alternately 
with the steam and exhaust portions of the groove in the boss. The 
piston therefore will continue to travel backward and forward in the 
cylinder, provided the latter is supplied with steam, and the oscillating 
motion is maintained. If we fulfill the first of these conditions, viz, to 
keep up the supply of steam, the oscillation of the cylinder may be in- 
sured by simply attaching the piston-rod cap, D, Fig. 12, to the crank- 
pin, as may be seen in Fig. 1. This will be sufficiently evident, if we re- 
member that the reciprocating motion of the piston is changed into a 
rotative one at the crank, and that by attaching the piston-rod directly 
to the crank-pin we obliged the cylinder and piston-rod to perform the 
functions of a connecting-rod, which is well known to oscillate while fol- 
lowing the circular path described by the crank-pin. 

The cylinder-face, and the face of the boss, must be made so true, 
and rest so closely in contact, that no steam can escape between them 
after the lock-nuts have been properly a,djusted. To insm-e so accurate 
a fit between two hard surfaces, one of which is continually moving over 
the other, will be found by amateur engineers to be a matter of no small 
difficulty. Although very few of our readers are hkely to attempt to fin- 
ish the cylinder and boss faces for themselves, we will, nevertheless, 
describe the process, as some may wish to put their skill to the test. 

The cylinder-face must be turned in the lathe as flat and smooth as 
possible, and the boss-face must be filed flat, unless the counter-sink 
shown in Fig. 17 be adopted, in which case both the counter-sink and 
the face should be wrought with a tool called a pin-drill. As we have 
not space at present to explain the formation and use of this, or, indeed, 
of any of the tools which are required in the construction of a model of a 
steam-engine, we must content ourselves by supposing that this portion 
of the work has been satisfactorily completed. 

If the boss be formed without a counter-sink, the cylinder-face may 
be used to assist us in making the boss-face flat. A httle red-lead must 
be mixed to a thick paste with oil, and a very small portion must be 
taken on the finger and evenly smeared over the cylinder- face. The 
stem, s, Fig. 11, should then be inserted in the hole, H, Figs. 17 and 18, and 
the cylinder, which is held between the finger and thumb of the right 
hand, must be twisted partly round, backward and forward, taking care 
to keep the face firmly in contact with that of the boss. On withdrawing 
the cylinder, we shall find that some of the red-lead, or coloring matter, 
has been transferred to the face of the boss, but probably in only one or 



EVEEY BOY HIS OWN MANUFACTURER. 53 

two places. These spots upon which the red Has been deposited are 
higher then the general level, and consequently must be lowered before 
the cylinder-face can touch the entire surface of the boss-face. The 
prominences indicated by the red must be reduced by a small and 
smooth file, being careful not to remove too much ; the file -dust must be 
wiped off the boss, and the finger passed over the cylinder-face to re- 
store the red to those parts from which it has been removed. The cyl- 
inder-face is again applied to and rubbed against that of the boss, and 
the colored spots are filed down, as before. This operation must be con- 
tinued until the cylinder-face touches that of the boss equally, all round, 
when the file may be laid aside, preparatory to finishing the surfaces by 
grinding them together. 

Flour emery of different degrees of fineness may be used in grinding iron 
or steel surfaces, but it is less suitable than some other substances for 
brass work. Very fine sand may be used with advantage, and some- 
times the slush that collects at the bottom of a grindstone trough, or 
the dust produced by turning up the stone, is employed with good re- 
sults. ■ The grinding material must be of uniform coarseness, otherwise 
it will act unequally, and injure, instead of improving, the surfaces. The 
sand or slush must be mixed with sufiacient water to enable it to spread 
over the surface to which it is applied. 

A thin and uniform layer of wet grinding material must be applied by 
the finger to the cylinder-face, which is then rubbed with very slight pres- 
sure against the face of the boss. The position of the cylinder must oc- 
casionally be varied, in order that the surfaces may be acted upon as 
equally as possible. The surfaces should frequently be separated, to al- 
low the sand to change its position, and also to enable us to see when the 
surfaces require wetting, as they will be damaged if suffered to become 
dry. Fresh sand must be applied from time to time, and the process 
must be continued until both surfaces present a uniform appearance. 
The sand must then be thoroughly 'washed off, and, after drying the work, 
a little oil should be smeared over the surfaces, which ought to be rub- 
bed together until they become smooth and bright. The oil must fre- 
quently be renewed, as it soon becomes charged with minute particles of 
brass, and perhaps of sand, which greatly retard the polishing. 

By referring to Fig. 4 our readers will observe that the part A, of the 
distributing-pipe, P, P, is secured to the cross-bar, m, m, by two screws, 
tj t. The cross-bar is also attached by screws to the side-frames. 

We must now bring this paper to a close, and while wishing our friends 
every success, we may observe that those portions of the engine — such as 
the boiler, cylinders, etc. — which present more than usual difficulties, can 
be purchased for a small sum of any, modeler who is in the habit of mak- 
ing miniature steam machinery. 



54 E'V'EEY HOT HIS OWN MAUUFACTUKER. 



HOT\r TO MAKE A MODEL STEAMBOAT. 

lu the following article I shall endeavor to explain to my readers how 
they may make a cheap model paddle steamboat. 

The first part to be made is the hull. For this you must obtain a 
piece of either pine or ash (free from knots and other imperfections), a 
little over twenty-two inches long, and about five inches thick ; you 
must now carefully shape your hull, as shown in Fig. 2, having done 
which to your satisfaction, you must draw a straight line down the cen- 
tre of your deck, and measure five inches from the stem, and the same 
number of inches from the stern ; the space between this you must care- 
fully hollow out, in order to make room for the machinery ; the part to 
be removed is shown between the two dotted lines, A A and B B, in 
Fig. 2. 

Fig. 1 will give you a general view and idea of our steamer. A is the 
paddle-box, B the boiler, C C the two funnels, D the cylinders, &c., E 
the waste steam-pipe, F the rudder, H the paddle-wheel axle ; I is a 
tap which can be worked on deck, and by turning which the engines 
can be stopped or set in motion at pleasure; N is a pipe leading from 
the boiler to the cylinder; T is the safety-valve, and L the lamp. 

The boiler is the only part you will not be able to make yourself; any 
tinman or coppersmith would, however, make it for a trifle; it can 
either be "of block- tin or brass; if made of block-tin it would be some- 
what cheaper, but brass looks much better, and, besides, is more dura- 
ble, and therefore to be preferred ; the boiler should be six inches and 
a half long, and three inches in diameter, and it should be hard sol- 
dered. 

We will now proceed to make the cylinders and parts connected with 
the same; and here some little patience and care will be required, in 
order to make the parts work evenly and accurately. Before we make 
the cylinders, &c., I had perhaps better explain how these parts work; 
to do this I must refer you to Fig. 3 . Here, N is the pipe leading from 
the boiler, H the paddle-wheel axle, M the cylinder, the steam-box, 
P the piston, R the side-valve, E the waste steam-pipe, and T U, two 
openings leading from the steam-box to the cylinder. And now, to ex- 
plain how these work. The steam enters the steam-box by the pipe 
N; as the passage T is closed by the side-valve R, it is forced to go 
through the passage U, and thus drives the piston P down, whilst 
the waste steam, which previously drove the piston P up, escapes 
through the passage T, and thence, by the waste steam-pipe at E, into 
the air. When, however the piston P is driven down, the order of things 
is reversed ; then, as will be directly seen by the arrangement of the 



EVERT BOY HIS OTOT MANUFACTUUER. 



55 



two cranks Q Q, the side-valve R is drawn up, and ttie passage T is 
left open, while that of U is closed, and thus the piston P is driven up 
again. 




Having, as I trust, fully and clearly explained the working of the cy- 
linder and steam-box, we will comraence to make the same. The cylin- 
der should be two inches and a quarter long, and one inch and a quar- 
ter in diameter ; an old telescope tubo, of about those dimensions; would 



56 EVEEY BOY HIS OWN MA^TJTACTUEEE. 

do very well. To make the piston, we must place the cylinder on a 
flat stone, and ran some melted lead to the bottom, to the thickness 
of a penny ) whilst in a molten state, we must place a ^.iece of strong 
straight wire perpendicularly in it, so that when the lead cools it may he 
firmly fixed to the same. The steam-box and side-valve next require 
our attention : the steam-box should be two inches and a quarter long, 
and about three-quarters of an inch in diameter; any piece of pipe, or 
tube, provided it is straight and even throughout, will do ; having ob- 
tained which, we must proceed to make the side-valve E; to do this we 
must place the steam-box on a piece of flat stone, and pour some melted 
lead into the bottom, in precisely the same manner as already described 
in making the piston — only, mstead of being the thickness of a penny, 
the lead should be run in till the steam-box is about three-quarters full; 
then, in the manner already described, we must place a piece of straight 
wire perpendicular in the centre of the lead, so as to be fixed firmly to 
the same when it cools. By referring to Fig. 3, the general shape of the 
side-valve wiU be seen, and when, of course, we take it out of the steam- 
box, it will be a perfect cylinder; we must, however, carefully file it to 
the required shape, futher particulars of which will be given as we pro- 
ceed. 

We have now the cylinder, piston, and piston-rod made ; but, as yet, 
the cylinder is open at both ends ; these must be secured by means of 
two pieces of brass, filed to the required size, and afterwards soldered 
securely on ; a small hole must, however, first be carefully made in the 
top one, for the piston-rod to pass through ; and the ends of the steam- 
box must also be secured in a hke manner. 

The two passages, T and U, must now be made in the side of our cy- 
linder, and two other similar passages must be bored through our steam- 
Dox, in order to meet them. The intervening space between the steam- 
box and cylinder, (see Fig. 3) must be filled with solder; the hole E, for 
the waste steam pipe, can be easily bored after the solder is set ; and 
our cylinder, steam-box, &c., are complete. 

We will now secure our boiler, cylinder, &;c., in their respective posi- 
tions; before we do which, however, we must line the inside of the hull 
with tin, to prevent the wood from being scorched or burnt by the heat 
of the lamp. The boiler is supported by two pieces of stout wire, ends 
of which are securely fixed into the bottom of the boat. The cyhnders, 
(tec, must be fixed as shown in Fig. 1; they must be kept in their pro- 
per positions by means of two pieces of wood, S S, which should be 
firmly screwed to the bottom of the boat ; a slight groove should be cut 
in the wood, in order to receive the cylinder, which should be futher se- 
cured by means of two thin brass bands being placed around it, and af- 
terwards well screwed down on either side of the same. 
The boiler, cylinder, &c., being duly fixed, the paddle-wheels next re- 



EVERY BOY HIS 0^^^ MAXITFACTmiEE. 57 

quire our attention : for these, four wheels, or discs, are necessary, to 
make which we must procure a sheet of thin brass, and, with a compass, 
describe four circles on it ; these should be four inches and three quar- 
ters m diameter j the shape of our wheels will be best seen in Fig. 4, 
which represents one of the paddles complete — that is, two ot our discs 
joined together with the paddles. We shall require ten floats to each 
paddle-wheel, which must be cut out of some hard wood, and should be 
as thin as possible, and about half an inch long. Having completed the 
paddle-wheels, we have now their axle to make ; this consists simply of a 
piece of straight wire with two cranks bent in it, (see Fig. 3) for the 
piston and valve-rod to work. 

We must now join the two paddle-wheels to the ends of the axle; the 
piston and side-valve rod must also be joined to their respective cranks; 
this is easily done by bending the ends of the piston and valve-rod 
round the axle, taking care to bend them sufficiently loose, that the 
parts may work freely. We have now a safety-valve to make ; for this 
we must procure a piece of thin pipe, a littie over an eighth of an inch 
in diameter ; this we must solder on the top of our boiler, in the posi- 
tion shown at T, Fig. 1 ; enclosed in this pipe is a piece of watch or 
spiral spring, which keeps down a small piece of metal, which metal is 
forced up when the steam is too strong in the boiler, thus allowing it 
to escape. 

The boiler must now be put into communication with the cylinder, by 
means of a piece of thin pipe, as shown in Fig. 1 ; we must also make 
and fix a small rudder, as shown, after which we have only the deck- 
covering and two funnels and paddle-boxes to make to complete our 
boat. 

The deck should be made of tin ; two holes must be oored in it for 
the two funnels, and another at 0, (see Fig. 1) in order to admit a cur- 
rent of fresh air, without which our lamps would go out ; the use of the 
chimneys is not merely ornamental, they serve to carry away the 
vitiated air and waste steam. 

We can, it we choose to, make our boat look more important, fix and 
rig a hght mast in front of the same at ; and also a glass covering 
might be placed over the cylinders, &c. 

The weighL of the boiler, machinery, &c., will generally be found 
sufficient ballast; should, however, our boat appear liable to capsize, 
we shall have to nail a thin strip of lead along the bottom, which will 
also serve for a keel — and our boat is finished. 



58 EVERT EOT HIS 0-mT lIAifTTFACTUBEE. 



TO MAKE A STEAM OTLIKDEE. 

As I remarked in the previous article, the cylinder is the most difficult 
part of a model engine to be made by an amateur. This difficulty is 
caused by the almost impossibility of making a perfectly steam-tight 
surface. 

For the production of such a surface a good lathe is necessary, which 
article is rather too expensive to be possessed by every amateur. 

I propose, therefore, to describe the construction of such a cylinder 
as may be in the power of every boy to make, and that for a few cents. 

The only necessaries are — three brass cylindrical boxes, half an inch 
diameter, such as are used for holding pens (nibs) or matches, 1 lb. of 
lead, a couple of pieces of soft wood to make a mould, and a small ves- 
sel, or iron spoon, in which to melt the lead. 

Before I begin the construction I must give a description of the four- 
way-cock, which I used as a valve. Fig. 1 is a section. The circular 
part is a section of the cock, which, instead of being pierced directly 
across, as in the common cock, is pierced in a curved direction in two 
places ; so that there are four openings, a, b, c, d, at right angles to each 
other, which communicate as shown in the figure. 

Let the cock be in the position shown in the figure — A the steam pipe ; 
B the escape pipe ; c and d the openings above and below the piston. 
Admit steam at a, it goes into d, while the waste steam goes out at b. 
Xow turn round the cock a quarter of a revolution, as shown by the dot- 
ted lines, and the steam goes into c, and the waste goes from d to b. 
But instead of taking the trouble of piercing the cock thus, we may file 
it, as shown in Fig. 2, with a semi-circular file, section A, appearance of 
cock b. It is evident that the same result will take place. Now for 
the work. 

Fig. 3 is a section, and Fig. 4 an elevation of the work complete. Pierce 
a hole in the side, close to the bottom of pen boxes (or cylinders) 1 and 
2. In the middle of the side of cylinder (or cock) 3, pierce four holes, 
with an awl or drill, diametrically opposite, as a, b, c, d. Fig. 1. Make 
two small rolls of paper, damped, and rolled tight. Insert one roll 
through the opposite holes in cyhnder 3, leaving about half an inch pro- 
jecting on each side. Insert each projecting end into the holes at the 
bottoms of cylinders 1 and 2. Put the other roll of paper through the 
other opposite holes in cylinder 3. (These papers are cores of the tubes 
entering the cylinder boiler and escape pipe.) 

Now out of the piece of wood make a mould, plan A, elevation B, fig. 
5. Cut a hole, c, of an elliptical shape, 2 inches long and 1 deep. At 
right angles, and at the centre of the former holes, cut another -circular 



EVEEY BOY HIS OVTS AJ A XUFACTrEEK. 



59 



one, D, exactly the diameter of cylinder 3 (as shown by the dotted lines 
in A, fig. 5.) Now put cylinder 3 through the holes. In the oval hole 
put the other two cylinders perpendicular, at each side of the horizontal 
one, not touching the bottom of mould. Xext insert the papers as be- 
fore shown. Support the cylinders, and pour in enough of lead to cover 
the cock. The cock should have been slightly greased before being put 
in, to prevent it adhering to the lead; whereas the other two shouTd be 




scraped and bnghtened, for the opposite purpose. Take out the whole 
from the mould. With a hooked wire the paper rolls, or cores, may be 
withdrawn, and by a little force we may draw out the cock, which, hav- 
ing been oiled and turned about, will soon be foimd to work steam tight 
and easily. To complete our cock, set it upright and fill it with lead 



60 EVEEY BOY HIS OWN MANUFACTUEER. 

(having previously of course stopped up its four holes.) File carefully 
as directed at Fig. 2, aud it is finished. For the piston rods, put a loop, 
Fig. 6, at the ends of two wires. Half fill the cylinders with sand, hold 
the wires in the centre, perpendicularly. Pour into each a small quanti- 
ty of lead ; having first greased the insides of the cylinders. We have a 
pair of pistons (whose rods are kept tight by the loops at the ends) and 
a pair of steam-tight cylinders to match. Set in lead in which the cock 
or valve works. 

Through the covers of the pen boxes, pierce holes for the piston rods. 
File the outside of the lead smooth. Solder a hole in a few inches of gas- 
pipe, one eighth inch internal bore, and all is finished. 

The two single-acting cylinders work the same as one double-acting 
one, and are more easily made. 

I need not describe the motion of the cock, which may be worked by 
an eccentric, in the axle of the fly-wheel, or by a lever, from the piston 
rods, joined to rod 1, Fig, 4. It moves (as has been before said) through 
one-quarter of a circle. From this necessarily long description the work 
may appear difficult, but really there is no difficulty, when once it is 
taken m hand. I trust that this paper, by removing a difficulty, may 
help to Increase the manufacture of model engines. 



t 

HOW TO ma.e:e a steam gauge. 

Probably but few of our readers will think it worth their while to 
A make a steam-gauge to so small an article as a model engine. 
/ \ ^. The present paper will, we trust, prove that, at a very trifling 
cost, one may be constructed that will correctly indicate the pres- 
sure on the boiler. 

The materials required will be a few pieces of glass tubing, a 
pair of pincers, and a spirit lamp. 

In the annxed illustration we see the right shape when com- 
pleted. 

A is the part required to be graduated, as in the engraving ; B 
the top of the second tube, fitted into the bottom of A, and C the 
tubing within the boiler. The advantage of the second tube will 
be explained as we proceed. 

Having everything in readiness, we will light the spirit lamp, 
and take a piece of tubing, two inches long, revolving it slowly 
over the flame, and with the pincers draw out one end so fine 
that it will only admit the point of a pin. This may be laid aside 
to cool. 

The second piece should be treated in the same manner, with 
the exception that both ends should be drawn out, and the lower 



k 



f 



EYEEY BOY HIS OWN MANUFACTTJREE. 61 

aperture rather larger than the other. When both are quite cool, fit the 
smaller end of the second piece into the large opening in the first, and 
raising both pieces to a white heat, press them firmly together with the 
pincers. 

The length of the upper piece must be two inches, or the above gra- 
dient will not be suitable. When the steam is as high as the boiler can 
bear, the water will rise in the tube to 10°, but when there is no pres- 
sure it will sink to 0°. 

The whole cost of making this useful little appendage will not exceed 
twenty-five cents. The boiler should be tolerably full of water at first, 
but after the steam is up it may be allowed to sink. 



HOW TO MAKE A CHEAP EO WING-BO AT. 

Rowing is one of the most healthy and enjoyable recreations we pos- 
sess. There are but few youths who do not delight in this pastime, but 
unfortunately, owing to the high price of even a small sized boat, there 
are not many so fortunate as to have one of their own. To those of my 
readers who do not possess a rowiug boat, I shall endeavor to describe 
how they may build one for themselves at a comparatively small outlay. 

The boat here described can easily be made for $5.00 or $10.00; it 
cannot well cost more, and might (with economy) be built for some- 
what less; the principal outlay will, of course, be for wood, the cost of 
the few screws, nails, tow, &c., required, being very trifling. 

Before commencing our boat, we must determine the size of the same, 
and here some little consideration will be required. A very useful size 
for an ordinary rowing-boat is 16 feet long by about 3 feet broad ; but 
if you require a fast boat, it must be somewhat longer, and also narrow- 
er in the beam. It must, however, be remembered that what we gain 
in speed we lose in other qualities : a long boat is more difficult to man- 
age and to turn than a shorter one ; it is also more liable to get dam- 
aged and to capsize ; therefore a shorter boat is to be preferred. 

The boat I am about to describe is intended to seat one or two per- 
sons, but it will easily accommodate three; it could also, by slightly 
widening the beam, be made to carry a small sail ; but unless you are a 
good sailor I should not recommend you to make this addition. A 
general view of our boat is given in Fig. 1 ; it will be flat-bottomed, but 
I can answer for the good qualities of a boat of this description. 

We will now consider the kind of wood to be used ; oak is by far the 
best, being both durable and strong ; pine could be used, and would be 
somewhat cheaper and easier to work, but if you wish for a really ser- 
viceable and strong boat, able to withstand rough usage, by all means 
use oak. You will require two pieces of nicely planed board about 16 



62 



EVERT BOY HIS OWX MA^^UFACTUREE. 



feet long bv 16 inches broad ; these are for the sides ; for the bottom you 
will want three pieces of board 16 feet long by about 12 inches broad. 




riG 1. 




Fia. 2. 




I^a. 3. 





Fig. 4. '^^- ^■ 

Your wood being ready, take the two boards intended for the sides 
and place between them two blocks of wood, each about 2f feet ^^ide, 



EVEEY BOY HIS OWN MANUPACTURER. 63 

as shown at E E, Fig. 3. Then take some stroug rope or cord and wrap 
it tightly around both ends, as shown at H H, Fig. 3. Now procure and 
insert into the cord at J a stroug stick, having inserted which, you must 
twist it round gradually until the two ends of the board are brought 
nearly together at L. You must now make a cut-water, which should 
be of oak, 18 inches long, by not quite 1 inch wide ; insert this at L be- 
tween the two boards; now give the stick J another twist, and the cut- 
water will, for the time being, be held tight between them ; then with a 
gimlet bore five or six holes through both boards and the cut-water, and 
secure all three firmly together with some good stout screws. 

The stern end of your boat now requires attention ; a full view of it is 
given in Fig. 4. It must be of oak, and shaped as shown: it should be 
at the top 36 inches wide, and about J 8 inches deep. You had better, 
perhaps, make this somewhat larger than is actually required, for after 
it is fixed to the end of your boat it can be easily planed down, while, 
should you by any chance make it too small, it cannot be enlarged. 
This must be fixed to the end of your boat at N, Fig. 3; and be firmly 
screwed on with long thin screws, the holes for which should be first 
carefully bored. It is scarcely necessary to remark that, however se- 
curely you make the joinings of your boat, the water will leak in : this 
is prevented by the joints being what is termed caulked, full particulars 
of which will be given as we proceed. 

Having screwed your stern on as tightly as you are able, you will pro- 
ceed to make the bottom of your boat. For this you must take the three 
pieces of board you have, and get a carpenter to make the side to lap 
over, so as to fit one in another, as shown at B, Fig. 2 ; having done 
this, you must place the boards together and secure them firmly in this 
position, by means of four pieces of wood, as shown at A A A A, Fig. 
2. You must now secure this to the bottom of your boat, using long 
thin screws, always being careful first to bore the holes for the same, 
lest you should split the wood, and thus, perhaps, seriously damage 
your boat after having proceeded so far well. 

You have now, if I may so term it, the hull of your boat roughly fin- 
ished , but without either being caulked, or without a keel, rudder, row 
locks, &c. Perhaps before proceeding any further, it would be as well 
to caulk your boat : for this, you must obtain some tow and also some 
tar or pitch, in which you must well soak your tow, and then with the 
blade of an old knife ram it well into all the joints and crevices : it is 
all-important that you do this well, for if at all hurried vour boat may be 
liable to leak. 

Proceed now to make the keel : this must be of oak, about an incn 
deep and about the same width ; it must be securely screwed along the 
bottom of your boat, having done which you may pitch the bottom well 
all over as an additional security of its being water-tight. 



64 EVERY BOY HIS OWIS" MAl^UEACTUEER. 

The rudder, which is represented in Fig. 5, now remains to be made ; 
this must be shaped as shown, and a piece of wood must also be screw- 
ed at right angles to the top of it (see Fig. 5). This is in order that the 
rudder may be worked by the two small ropes, as will be seen by Fig. 1. 
Two small hooks, D D, must now be fixed in your rudder, in order to * 
hang it on to the stern ; these can be made out of some strong iron wire, 
one end being firmly inserted into the rudder, and the other bent as 
shown. As yet you have nothing on which you can hang your rudder ; 
you will have therefore to cut a strip of wood (A A, Fig. 4 ), and screw 
it on to the end of the stern, taking care to fix it exactly in the middle j 
into this you must insert two pieces of iron wire and bend them round 
so as to allow the rudder to be hooked on (see Fig. 4). 

The row-locks and seats next require to be made ; for the former eight 
pieces of oak neatly rounded, and about an inch in diameter, will do cap- 
itally; they must be fixed into either side of your boat, as shown in 
Fig. 1. The seats can be best made of pine, taking care to secure these 
firmly, or else some day, perchance, whilst rowing, they might give 
way, which, to say the least, would be very unpleasant. You have now 
only to secure two strings to the top part of your rudder, in order that 
the same may be worked by anybody sitting in the stern of your boat. 

In order to be quite sure your boat is water-tight, you had better, if 
possible, anchor her in some water, and then place some heavy stones in 
her ; should no water leak in during twelve hours, you may be certain 
your boat is perfect, and only requires to be painted. 

The best colors to use will be — for the outside, white, relieved by a 
thin stripe of blue ; and for the inside a light blue. Tour seats might 
be made more comfortable by tying or nailing a small cushion upon 
them — and your boat is finished. 



ETEKY BOr HIS O'n'X ilAXUFACTUBEK. 



65 



TO MAKE PADDLE-WHEELS FOE A 
SMALL BOAT. 

In my opinion, the pleasures of boating are greatly augmented by the 
feeling that one is '^ paddling his own canoe," to quote the words of that 
odious ballad. Any of my juvenile readers, who, like myself, are so for- 
tunate as to possess a small row-boat, or punt, will greatly add to their 
amusement and vary their exercise, by following the dkections which I 
am about to give them. 




The following is a description of the manner in which I made a pair 
of paddle-wheels for my own boat. 

To make these articles it is not necessary to get any groat number of 
tools. The only ones I made use of were a saw, hammer, and mortise- 
chisel. 

I first got a thick branch of elm, about G in. in diameter. Having cut 
down this, I cut from it two pieces free from knots, about 5 in. long, 
and trimmed them down into two respectable-looking cylinders, 5 in. in 
diameter, and 5 in. long. 



66 EVERY BOY HIS OYTX ilA^TCai^ACTUPvER. 

These were for the centres of the wheels. 

In epvCh of these I mortised sis holes, 3 in. x ^ in. and 1 in. deep (Fig. 
] ). I next measured the height from the water-line up to the gunwale 
of my boat, 1 foot. (This was to find the length of the spokes.) Four 
inches is sufficient for the paddle -boards to dip in the water. 

I then cut twelve pieces of i in. plank, like Fig. 2, A b J2 in., A d 4 
in.^ F c 8 in., B E 3 in., and inserted the ends, e b, of each of these, into 
a mortise-hole in the centre-blocks, first made, and nailed them in well. 

The wheels were now made, but were weak ; so, to strengthen them, 
I nailed in pieces of i in. plank between the spokes, as A b, Fig. 3. 

The next thing to be thought of was an axle, so I bought for a few 
cents a piece of rod-iron, i in. thick, straight and smooth. I got a coun- 
try smith to bend it, as in Fig. 4, taking great care to have A B and e f 
in a perfectly straight line, b c and e h, each 4 in., c d and G h each 
3 in., D G being, of course, 8 in. The smith now welded on two rings, k 
and L, round the iron, at equal distances from b and e, and taking care 
to leave K l exactly the breadth of the boat, in the place where I intend 
the axle to lie. 

Three inches beyond e: and l he pierced two holes, and 5 in. beyond 
these, two other holes, just large enough to allow the admission of very 
large nails. 

He then cut off the ends of the iron one inch beyond the last-mentiou- 
od holes. He next squared the ends of the axle, from k and l out, to 
prevent the wheels from slipping round. 

I now cut a hole for the axle through the exact centre of each wheel, 
pirt a wheel on each end of the axle, wedged large nails into the holes, 
to prevent the wheels slipping off or in; and the work was complete to 
my entire satisfaction, so far as making the wheels fit for the boat went. 

Now to make the boat fit for the wheels. 

I cut two pieces of hard wood like Fig. 5, about 3 in. high, and G in. 
long, with a gap, c d, cut down in the centre, just large enough to let the 
: axle turn freely in it. An iron spike, A b, can be inserted, or removed 
when required, to keep the axle from coming up. These pieces I nailed 
firmly on the gunwales of the boat, to act as bearings for the axle— they 
are to the wheels what row-locks and thole-pins are to oars. 

I now fitted the cranks, or handles, with straps fastened to treadle- 
boards, like those of a lathe, at the bottom of the boat j which is pro- 
pelled in the most comfortable manner possible by sitting on the thwart, 
aft the axle, putting the feet on the treadle-boards, and working away. 

The boat is then most conveniently steered by yoke lines, instead of a 
tiller. 

When a stiff breeze is blowing, a little spray is blown off the wheels 
into the boat, but this slight inconvenience is easily remedied by making 
light guards. of canvas, stretched upon a wooden framework, and put in 



ETinY BOY nis c^rx M:AxuFACTrr.Erw 67 

a temporary manner, so as to be easily removed and replaced, between 
the wheels and the person in the boat. 

Hoping that these instructions will be understood, I refer my readers 
to the next chapter for a description of a simple and cheap screw pro- 
peller for the same boat. 



TO MAXE A SOEEW PEOPELLEE FOE A 
SMALL BOAT. 

Having, in the last chapter, given a description of a pair of paddle- 
wheels, I now propose to vary the exercise, and give a description of a 
screw-propeller, which will be just as easy to make as the paddle- 
wheels ; and which I can confidently, a'nd from experience, recommend 
to my friends. 

1st. We have to consider the screw itself. 

2d. Its framework. 

3d. Its motion. 

To make the screw itself— get a cylindrical piece of wood, 12 in. long 
and 3 in. in diameter (Fig. 1). With a mortise-chisel cut a hole (A b) 2 
in. long, I- in. wide, and 1 in. deep, Inclined at an angle of about 45 de- 
grees with the axis or length of the cylinder. The wood-cut. which is 
drawn to scale, gives the measurements. 

Now turn the cylinder right over, and in the opposite side, just over 
the first hole, cut another of exactly the same dimensions, as shown by 
the dotted lines. Then^ if you possess a lathe, put your cylinder iiito it, 
and cut a neat groove, c, Fig. 1, about i in. deep, and angular at the 
bottom ; and turn ofi" both ends of the cylinder to nearly a point. If, 
like myself, you are not the happy possessor of a lathe, you must man- 
age to do it as neatly as possible otherwise. 

Next, out of a half-inch plank, cut two pieces the shape of Fig. 3, the 
end A 2 in. wide, abG in., the widest part, c d (2 in. from the top), 3 
in. Feather ofi' the edges at the round top, and at the sides within 1^ 
in. from the bottom. Now put these two pieces down into the holes in 
Fig. 1, and nail them well, as in Fig. 2. Drive a neat round spike into 
each end of the cylinder, or rather what was a cylinder before the ends 
were pointed ofi". The screw is now complete. 

Wo then come to the frame. 

Measure the height of the stern of your boat — say 2 ft. Get some 
timber li in. square, and cut one piece 30 in. long, c d Fig. 2, that is, (J 
in. higher than the stern of th*e boat. Two pieces 15 in. long, f g 
and E c, and one piece 18 in. long, e f. Cut two pieces of hooi) iron, 
3 in. long, and drill a hole in each just large enough for the spike at 



68 



EVEPvY BOY niS 0"^'X MAyUPACTUIiEIt. 



each end of the screw to fit nicely into. Fasten these, one to the 
IS in. timber and the other to the 30 in. one, so that the holes come 
exactly 9 in. from one end of each, h and i. Now mortise or dovetail 
all these irlcccs well together; but before permanently fastening them, 
put in the screw, with the spikes at the ends, inserted into the holes in 
the irons n and i, taking care to have the groove, a, next to the 
longest piece, c d. Now nail well. Get two hooks, exactly like those 
on a rudder, k and l : fasten them to the long side of the frame, so that 




PiG.!. 

when the whole machine is hanging on to the stern of the boat, hke a 
rudder, the end e c may lie as a continuation of the keel. 

Now we come to the third part of our work, the" motion. 

Turn or cut a wheel, ]^, with a half-inch groove all round it, about 
three times the diameter of the groove A. This may be made out of 
one solid piece 1} in. thick. Cut a square hole in the centre of this 
wheel. Get a smith to make you an axle, x o, having a square part 
near one end, to fit exactly the square hole in the centre of the wheel 



EYERT EOT HIS OTVX AIAXLTACTUTvEPc. " G9 

ii, and a handle, p, at the other end, any dimensions you please, x o 
may be about 12 in. long. Cut another piece of wood, o, li in. square, 
and dovetail it int^ r G perpendicularly ; let it bo just as long as d G is 
above f g. Now in this last piece, and also in c d, drill a hole with an 
auger, 3 in. from the top of each, just large enough for the axle to fit in ; 
put in the axle and fasten on the wheel 21, between o and d c, so that it 
may be exactly over the groove a. 

Xow I fancy you think that, as the machine hangs at the stern of the 
boat by the rudder-irons, it is to act as a rudder as well as a screw, 
but I found by experience that this would never do. 

To prevent the apparatus from turning about, cut a piece of timber, 
E, about 10 in. long, 2 in. wide, and 1 in. thick. Fasten this^ as in Fig. 2, 
to the upright, c d, so that half of it may project out on one side, and 
half on the other; and so that when the machine is hooked on, e may 
lie tight against the ctern of the boat. It will be easily seen that this 
will keep it from moving as a rudder does. 

Two eyes may now be put on, e f, imd the origmal rudder, x, of the 
boat hooked on there. Of course then a yokc-tillcr with cords must 
be used. 

Xow get a good strong piece of jack-line to go round the wheel it 
and the groove a, as an endless band. This would shrink and get too 
tight in the water, so it must be boiled in oil, and get a coat of tar 
occasionaUy. This is to be cut to the proper length, and is to have a 
hook at one end, and an eye at the other. If you want to tighten the 
band, unhook it and twist it till the requisite tightness is obtained, and 
hook it on again. 

The whole machine is now complete. 

Having got into the boat, you can, slowly at first, but with gradually 
accelerated speed, turn the handle, p. If the screw does not go round 
freely, tighten or loosen the endless band, as occasion requires. One hand 
can with the greatest ease and freedom turn the handle ; a fine smooth 
rapid progressive motion will soon be obtained, destitute of any noise or 
splashing, like that caused by paddle-wheels, and without the jerking 
motion of oars. I feci confident that this screw will give great satisfac- 
tion, as well as amusement, to anj readers who may try the experiment j 
and if they will employ a few of their leisure hours in their workshops in 
the winter, in the manufacture of this screw, and the formerly described 
paddles, I can promise them plenty of- aquatic enjoyment during tho 
summer. 



70 EYEEY liOY ins OTTN" ItAXUFACTUREPw 

HOW TO MAKE A HYDEAULIO PEOPEL- 
LEE FOE A SMAEL BOAT. 

Any owner of a boat wlio has access to a plumber and smith ttIII^ 
with their assistance, and the aid of the contents of their shop, be able 
with perseverance to surmount all difficulties in the manufacture of the 
small machine I am about to describe. 

My first object is to give you a general notion of the whole machine, 
for which purpose I refer you to the illustration, Fig. 1, which gives a 
section of the boat and an elevation of the machine ; and to Fig. 2, which 
gives a plan. 

Ton see a leaden pipe (gas-pipe), o, running along the bottom of the 
boat, from stem to stern, and communicating with the external water by 
holes in the cutwater and stern, into which the ends of the pipe fit water- 
tight. Connected with this pipe are two cylinders (or pump -barrels if 
you like), A and e, in which pistons work freely but water-tight, con- 
nected by jointed rods with a lever, c, which works on a fulcrum midway 
between the two barrels d, and has a handle to be worked by the hand 
of the person in the stern. 

By means of valves and connecting tubes, hereafter to bo described, a 
continual stream of water is sucked in at the bows and ejected at the 
stern of the boat, with a force proportional to the power of the person 
at work. This stream of water propels the boat with a smooth and easy 
motion, not to bo obtained by either screw or paddles, and with a speed 
proportional to the diameter and capacity of the cylinders and tubes. 

Having thus given a rough idea of what we propose to do, my second 
object is to give the larger details. For these I refer you to Fig. 2. 

There is a rectangular board, e, 32 in. long by 12 in. wide, which is to 
bo firmly fastened to the bottom of the boat by means of bolts and nuts, 
or by any other means the ingenuity of the manufacturer may suggest. 
To this board, which izto be the bsd-plate of the machine, and must be 
very thick and firmly xlxed, arc fastened vertically the two cylinders, A 
and E, in a lino with the keel of the boat; a pipe, F, enters a from tho 
direction of tho bows, and is fixed into it at tho bottom ; a similar pipe 
Cx, enters n from tho direction of the stern, and is soldered in the same 
way into a hole near the bottom of e. Another pipe, E', connects A with 
G, and a fourth, g', connects e with e. These pipes will be more par- 
ticularly described hereafter. 

Figures 1, 2, 3, 4 are valves in tho pipes f, f", g, g', respectively, all 
opening in the direction of the stern. The pipes f and G extend only 
an inch or two beyond the board e, and are connected by short strong 



ETEEY EOY HIS OYrX MAXUFACTUEErv. 



71 



bits of India-nibbcr tubing with the long pipe o, vrhich is in two parts, 
one extending from the bows to f, and the other fromi G to the stern. 
Now we will consider the action. Suppose we raise the handle c ; this 
lifts the piston in e and depresses that in a. When the piston e is lifted, 
the valve 3 opens, 4 shuts ; as much water is. sucked in from the bows as 
will fill the barrel e. Xow depress the handle, and the very same op- 
eration goes on in a, whose piston, when raised, sucks in water through 




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valve 1 ; at the same moment the piston b is depressed and ejects all 
the water (which it had previously sucked up) through the valve 4, which 
opens while 3 shuts, out at the stern, thereby causing the boat to move 
forward. Raise the handle again, and A discharges its water, causing 
the -inotion to continue, while e performs its first operation again. 



rZ EYEEY LOT niS OTTX ilJOv'UrACTUr.Erw. 

So on an indefinite number of times^ avIiHg the boat soon gets a, rapid 
and easy motion ; and the labor is no greater than that of Tvorking a 
very easy pmnp, that is, if the machinery is made vrell, and the working 
parts are smooth and oiled, and fit well. 

The third head of my subject is the minutioB of manufacture, or the 
smaller details. As the cylinders are both alike, one illustration, Fig. 3, 
will serve for both. They may be made of brass or iron, according to 
the taste, or pocket, or mechanical resources of the manufacturer. They 
are to be open at the top, closed at the bottom, with flanges, F, all round 
the bottoms, having holes in them to enable them to be firmly bolted or 
screwed to the bed-plate e (Fig. 2). Holes A and a' are to be pierced 
as close to the bottom as possible, opposite each other, and of such a 
size as to allow the pipes e, e', and G, G', to bo fitted tightly into them. 

The insides of the cylinders afe to bo perfectly true, and smooth like 
a pump-barrel. They may be 14 in. high and 4 in. diameter ; it is best 
to get them cast at a foundry and turned true — this costs only a few 
cents a pound. 

The pistons are to bo turned out of any hard wood, and to be sur- 
rounded by leather neatly tacked on; the edges are not to overlap, but 
to be brought to meet, and fastened with very small-headed tacks, or to 
be sewn with strong twine. These must work quite smoothly and water- 
tight in the barrels. 

A hole goes through the centre of the piston, through which a piston- 
rod, A (Fig. 4), goes. The lower end of the rod is to be screwed, and a 
nut is to be screwed on tight below the piston, and a collar or projection 
solid with the rod, to keep the piston from slipping up. The upper end 
of A is flattened out, and a hole made to admit of a steel pin, b, which 
fastens it to the connectmg-rod c. This rod c is, like the piston-rod, 
made of iron, and has the upper end flattened out and pierced, to admit 
of a pin, E, which links it to the lever c (Fig. 2). The lower end is 
forked so as to admit the flattened top of the piston-rod between its 
jaws exactly. Both jaws are i^ierced for the pin e, which goes through 
them and the piston-rod, thus forming a liuk or hinge, which must be 
nicely made, so as to make no noise. Both cylinders have the same 
kind of piston-rod and connecting-rod. 

Xow for the lever (Fig. 5). This is best made of iron, but the handle 
end may be of wood, and neatly turned. One end. A, is forked hke the 
bottom of the connecting-rod, and is pierced for a pin which links it to 
the top of the connecting-rod of cylinder A. Eight inches from pin a 
is another hole for the pin e, which is to form the fulcrum, to go into. 
Eight mcheS from the fulcrum is an oblong hole, G, a couple of inches 
long, and just wide enough for the flattened top of the connecting-rod 
of cyhnder e to fit nicely into. It is connected to this by a pin, G, in 
the same manner as the other joints. The handle c may be of any 



EVERY EOY EIS OWX ilAXUFACTrr.EE. 73 

length, from one and a half to two feet, accordmg to the caprice of the 
owner. 

The next thing is a standard to support the fulcrum of the lever, j 
(Sec n, Fjgs. 1 and 2, and Fig. G.) This may be made of a piece of 
wood 2 in. square, and 2 ft. high; it is to be well mortised into the bed- 
plate E, Fig. 2. (It may also be supported and strengthened by other 
pieces of wood nailed against it.) This is also to be forked at the top, 
and pierced for the steel pin b, which is to serve as a fulcrum for the 
lever. 

Put the lever in its i)lace between the jaws at the top of the upright, 
insert a strong steel fulcrum, which must lit well to prevent noise or 
shaking of the parts. This upright is to be mortised exactly half way 
between the two barrels. Put the i^istons into the barrels, and connect 
them properly v;ith the lever. The i^rincipal dimensions are given in 
the illustration in inches. 

Now, supposing all that I have described to be well made, and every- 
thing tight and in its placCj we come to the consideration of the pipes. 
(See Fig. 2.) 

^ Get a few feet of lead tubing, 1 in. diameter (internal). Cut it into 
four parts — one, f, long enough to go from A to a couple of inches beyond 
E. Another, G, to go from b to a couple of inches beyond e, toward the 
stern. A third, F', to go from the other hole near the bottom of cyl- 
inder A to join the pipe G. A fourth, g, to connect f with the other hole 
near the bottom of n. These may be soldered into the holes in the cylinder, 
and into each other, with water-tight joints. But before soldering them, wo 
have to make the valves, and put them into them. These must be 
made carefully of hard wood, well seasoned, turned so as to fit the pipes 
exactly, and very tight inside. (See Fig. 7.) a is a plan, and b a sec- 
tion of the valves. 

You see they are rings of wood, 1 in. external, and 5-8 in. internal di- 
ameter, and for the sake of strength, ^ in. high. The rings are then 3-l() 
in. thick, so that they are very tender, unless made well out of good 
wood. A i)iece of tough but flexible leather, c, is to bo cut 15-16 in. dia- 
meter, and a bit, D, left to admit of the tacks which are to fasten it 
down in this one place ; a circular bit of leather, ^- in. diameter, is to be 
.stitched firmly to the centre of the other to strengthen it, without inter- 
fering with the flexibility of the hinge, and to prevent its being, on ac- 
count of its weakness, forced into the wooden ring by tlio pressure ol" 
the water. 

Make four of these, and put one into each pipe, about 1 in. from the 
holes in the cylinders, taking care that all valves open in the direction 
of the stern; that is — that the leather is turned in that direction. 
If a little white-lead and oil bo smeared round the outside of tho valves 
before insertion, they will bo very much tightened, and kept more firm. 



/4 EYEEY EOT HIS OWX AIAXUFACTUEEE. 

Solder your tubes in their places, taking care to have the valves 4 and 
1 between the joinings of the tubes r and g', f' and g, and their respec- 
tive barrels. Fasten the tubes to e by wiree, or any other means, such 
as staples. 

Now get your boat out of the water, and with a large auger pierce a 
hole in the cutwater a few inches below water, just large enough for the 
tube o to lit into, (x. Fig. 1.) You will have to make two holes in the 
stern, one at each side of the stern-post t: the farther below the water- 
line the better, and exactly IwrizontaJ. If there was only one hole it 
would go through the stern-post, and interfere with the rudder. 

Kow get the leaden tube o, 1 in. internal diameter ; insert one end into 
X very tight, with caulkmg, or it may get loose some fine day, and the 
boat and its owner be swamped. Carry the pipe along thebottom-of the 
boat (if you can get it under the ceiling, or make a wooden covering for 
it, as a protection, so much the better), cut it oft when it comes within 
an inch of f, Fig. 2, carry it on again from G, Fig. 2, to the hole y, at 
one side of the stern-post ; fasten it well there. 

Now get a short bit of the same tube and fasten it into the other hole 
Y, and join the other end of it to o about a foot from the stem; let thef 
pipes communicate through a hole in o ; solder the joint well. Get two 
bits of strong India-rubber tubing, 1 in. diameter,'with these connect the 
tubes F and o, and G, and the short part of o. The India-rubber tubes 
ought to be tied tighXlx outside VaQ tubes they connect. 

A bit of wire grating, with about 25 holes to the inch, ought to be 
nailed outside the hole x. {The boat is supposed to be 15 ft.) 

Now launch the boat, and work away as hard as you hke, and that 
your efforts may bo crowned with every success is my sincere desire and 
confident expectation. 



HOW I BUILT A CHEAP OAXOE. 

In the following article I shall attempt to show how I have built a 
canoe, for the benefit of boys who are fond of canoeing, and who wish to 
enjoy it at a moderate cost. 

I have built, in all, four canoes, each in a cliff'erent way and of a difier- 
cnt shape, and have at length decided which is without doubt the best. 
The first three were built of a framework of laths, which were covered 
with canvas, and this canvas was well pitched, to make the boat water- 
tight. 

It is not necessary to describe here how these boats were made. Suf- 
fice it to say they were ftiilures. One great defect was their weight, 
arismg from the pitched canvas. However light I made the framework, 



EVERY EOT HIS OTy'X MAXUEACTURER. 75 

I had, in order to make the canoo thoroughly water-tight, to tar and 
pitch it thickly over, and as tar is very heavy, this made a serious differ- 
ence. Besides this, in order to make the boat strong, it was necessary 
to have the laths an^ ribs tolerably thick, so that the canvas canoes 
were rather clumsy affairs. I will therefore only describe the last I 
made, which has taken one-thh^d the labor, and one-half the money of 
each of the first three. 

The chief advantage in a boat of this kind, intended for speed, is 
lightness. I think this is more important than even a good shape, 
for it is impossible to build a properly -shaped wooden canoe for such a 
sum as this will cost. Of course, strength must not be lost sight of, or 
your canoe will fall to pieces on the first rock you happen to run foul of. 

Before commencing your boat, it will be necessary to decide whether 
you intend to sail, or only to paddle. If the former, you should make it 
rather broader than if you use a paddle only. If you intend to sail 
much, you must also have a keel, which is not absolutely necessary for 
paddling. Breadth will not make very much difference in the speed, 
but length is an advantage, as it causes the canoe to draw less water, 
and gives it a better shape. The dimensions here given will be found 
about right. 

The wood required consists of four planks J in. in thickness ; two, 
15 ft. long and 7 in. broad, for the sides, and two others, 14 ft. long and 
11 in. wide, for the bottom. Ton will also require a few feet of planking 
1 in. thick, and a gross of screws, 11 in. long, and as thin as possible. 
These are all the materials you require ; nor do you want many tools. 
A saw, plane, and chisel, with a pricker and screw-driver, are all that 
arc necessary. 

Figure I. will give you an idea of what it will be like. The canoe in 
this drawing is supposed to bo tipped up on one side, and is represented 
very broad in order to show the inside better. A A are two rectangular 
pieces of wood to which are fastened the sides bbj c is the bottom, 
also fastened to a a, which we will call uprights, b and e are the bows 
and otern-posts. The canoeist sits between the uprights, and the re- 
maining space between the uprights and the ends may bo covered over 
with canvas. 

The first thing to do is to join the two broad planks together to form the 
bottom. To do- this, the edges of tlic wood should be grooved (Fig. 11. ), 
but if you find the planks are too thin for this, you must cut the edges, 
as shown in Fig. III. Then placo the planks side by side, tho edge of one 
overlapping the edge of tho other, and nail or screw on at regular inter- 
vals slips of wood to keep tho boards, together. 

If you have no means of planing tho edges as described, you must fiis- 
teu them together by tlie cross-pieces only, first planing the edges quite 
true. These cross-pieces are slips of wood about G in. long and IV in. 



ETEKY EOY HIS OTTX MAXUrACTXJPwErv. 



t.iOad^ and are fastened on about 1 ft. apart. Care must bo taken to 
place them all inside the boat. The bottom is then finished, all but the 
shaping; vrhich is done nearly last. It will be about 22 in. wide and 14 
ft. long. 

You must next make the uprights. These form a very important part 
of the canoe, so they must bo strong. Make them 1 in. thick, the shape 



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of an oblong, 19^ in. by 7 in. They are to be fixed upright on the bot- 
tom^ at equal distances from its centre. The distance between them is 
of course determined by the length of your legs. For a boy 5. ft. 6 in. 
high, they should be about S ft. 9 in. apart. It is not necessary to fix 
them very firmly to the bottom, as the sides hold them quite firm when 
they are put on. Place them upright in their proper places, and drive 



EVERY BOY HIS OV,'X MAXUrACTURErv. 



m\ 



II 



into thera a few screws through the bottom, and they will be quite firm 
enough /^ r the present. 

Figure IV. shows the bottom of the canoe, as far as it is now com- 
pleted ; A A show the position of the uprights. As they are only 19-^ 
in. wide they will not reach across the bottom, and care must be taken 
to have an equal distance at each side, b b are the cross-pieces fasten- 
ing the two bottom boards together. 

You now have to fix on the 
sides. Screw them to the edges 
of the uprights in their respective 
places, taking care to let their 
lower edges lie quite flat on the 
bottom. To fasten the sides in 
their places at the bows and 
stern, cut two pieces of thin hard 
wood, 7 in. long and about 3 in. 
])road, to form the cut-water and 
stern-post. 

Having cut the sides to the 
right length (you will find them 
about 3 or 4 in. too long at each 
end), bring them together at the 
bows and place the cut-water be- 
tween them. Screw them tightly 
together in this position, and do 
the same at the stern. The sides 
should be cut at each end so as 
to fit neatly on the stern-joost 
and cut-water. The cut-water 
may be cut to the shape shovrn in 
Fig. I. The dotted line in Fig. 
IV. shows the position the sides 
willfioccupy. 

The next tiling to do is to fix 
the sides firmly to the bottom. 
Do this by driving in screws ^ in. 
from the bottom edge of the side 
planks slantingly into the bottom. 
Put these screws about 1 ft. apart, and bo careful not to split the wood. 

You have now only to cut away the superfluous parts of tho bottom 
(c c, Fig. IV.) and the canoo is complete. But it is not yet fit for use, as 
it still requires caulking to make it thoroughly water-tiglit. 

The manner of doing this depends partly on tho result of your work. 
If there is much space betv/ecn the sides and the bottom you must uso 



ill 



i;ii 



/C ETELY DOT HIS OTTi; XA^rurAcirp^K. 

tow, dipped in tar and pitch boiled together in eqnal quantities. Eaoi 
this into the interstices from the inside with a blunt chisel, and th: boat 
will be watertight. But if the sides fit well down on the bottom, it will 
merely be necess?.ry to nib putty well over the joints as this will be quite 
sufficient when it gets hard and is painted over. 

When you have made it watertight, you can paint it and finish it olTj 
inside and out, to your satisfaction. 

It should have two or three coats cf paint. The choice of colors is. of 
course, a matter of taste, but I should not advise very light colors, es- 
pecially for the inside, as it soon gets dirty, and then does not look well. 
It greatly improves the appearance to cover the ends over with canvas, 
leaving the middle bctvrcen the uprights to sit in. This canvas should 
be painted white. A small seat or cushion may be made, but not raised 
more than 1 in. or li in. from the bottom. 

Tour canoe is now quite complete, but you have still to make a pad- 
dle. ' If you prefer rowing; you can make your boat for that puipose. It 
must be much stronger, and, unless you have outriggers, mus: be much 
broader also. 

The paddle should be made of one piece of spruce fir. but if you can- 
not make it thus, you must cut two blades of thin oak (Fig. V.) and join 
them to the ends of a jwle as light and as strong as possible. The pad- 
dle should be firom 7 ft to 8 ft. long, iuid should have an India-rubber 
band, like those used on umbrellas, round the pole at each end where it 
joins the blades. This prevents the vratcr from running off the blades 
into the boat. 

All is now ready for the launch, and it may not be out of place to say 
here that you can't be too careful at first I can answer for there being 
not the slightest chance of an upset if you exercise a little care, but if 
you are not used to sma]l boats you will i^ost likely feel rather uncom- 
fortable at first. 

For the first tim : : r vtting in and out yon had better get a friend to 
hold the boat, but you. vri:i s : "n c^ain confidence and be able to manage 
this alone. You will find :. s::::/.! s :iua.re sail to be a great improvement 
to your canoe rrhen going beiore the vrind. 

I have now done my best to show you how to make your canoe, and 
as I have made several myseh, I can answer for the plan being a snc- 
cessf::! one. It is s? very simple that almost any boy could make one. 
Tlie m:-: l"l± /_: - :: :s to get the sides screwed firmly on the bottom 
without splitting tliem. To do this it is only necessary to use a lai^ge 
pricker and to exercise a iittie care. 

I have written this : r 'j :7s who are fond 01 boating, but who have 
not the means of gettm^ r. more expensive boat. It cannot cost mere 
than $3 r.t the most, and i: qc^ easily be maae for $2. Of course, a 
much better one can be made en the same pian at a greater expense. 



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79 



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BOY HIS OWN MAXUFACTUEEPw 



more coils of tlio same size, and tie each firmly Tvith Yraxcd string 
as before. Slip the whole off the piece of wood and make a second coll 
perfectly similar in all respects, taking especial care to wind the wire in 
the same direction. The two coils should bo separated from each other 
by about 3 in. or 4 in. of loose wire. You must now well varnish them 
with ordinary white hard varnish so that they may not be affected by 
damp. If you wish to be very smart; you can use red sealing-wax dis- 
solved in methylated spirit. 

We must next make what is called an astatic magnetic needle, that is 
to say, a compound needle so constructed as to be uninfluenced, or nearly 
so, by the earth's magnetism. First magnetize two stout sewing-needles 
about 2-J in. long, so that their points shall bo north poles, then take a 
piece of brass wire 3 in. or 4 in. long, and about as thick as an ordinary 
pin, or a little thicker, and tie the two needles on it, at right angles, 
with well-waxed silk, as shown at A D, Fig. 2, with the contrary poles 
facing each other. 

You will next require a piece of brass hal 



an inch wide, and one-sixteenth thick. This 
may bo procured at any metal shop for a few 
cents. Cut off a piece about 3 inches in length, 
and bend it into the shape shown at A B C, in 
Figs. 2 and 3. At A, a hole should be drilled 
to receive one end of the brass axis of the com- 
pound needle. This hole ought to be a little 
smaller than the brass wire of the axis, which 
Jp should be carefully tapered off with a fine file at 
each end, so that it may not slip through the hole- 
At the other end, at C, Figs. 2 and 3, another 
hole should be made, through which to screw 
it to the face of the upright board. It must, 
however, remain unfixed until the very last 




thing, as its position will depend on that of the 
back support of the axis of the compound nee- 
dle. A reference to Fig. 4 will show how the 
double coil is fixed in its place by means of a 
piece of bent brass. In the middle, at D, Figs. 
2 and 4, a hole is drilled similar to that in the 
front support, so that it not only serves to keep 
the coils in their places, but also as a pivot on which the compound nee- 
dle can swing. Having fixed the coils firmly in their places, about an 
eighth of an inch apart, so as to give the needle all the benefit of the 
.current, and tapered the ends of the brass axis, you must next screw on 
the front support, as shown in Figs. 2 and 3. This will require very 
careful manipulation, for it is of the greatest possible consequence that 



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the two holes iu which the axis swings should be perfectly level and ex- 
actly opposite each other. If, instead of making -the screw hole at C 
round, you make it oblong, you will have the means of adjusting the 
front support to a nicety. The holes in the brass may be easily made 
with a file, the tip of which is ground on a whetstone to a three-cornered 
point ; but of course, if you are able to do so, it is better to use a drill. 
You must spare no pains over the adjustment of the needle on its axis, 
otherwise you will be continually troubled by its sticking fast just when 
you are in the middle of a message. 

You will most likely 
find that the compound 
needle will not hang quite 
perpendicularly; if so, it: 
will be necessary to attach 
a tiny piece of wax to the 
f"'^-^ 1^ ■ ^^ ' — -i lower end of the back 

needle. It sometimes 
happens, also, that if the 
needles are too short, 
there will be some diffi- 
culty in bringing them to 
rest after they have been 
moved j to remedy thi3, the front needle may be made rather longer 
than the back one. On each side of the front needle there should be 
fixed two little stops of ivory or wood, as shown at E, Figs. 2 and 3, to 
prevent the needles turning quite round, when the current is. passed 
through the coil. Having completed the signaling portion of our tele- 
graph, the next thing to do is to describe the method of making the 
commutator contrivance for changing the direction of the coil. 

There are a largo number of commutators in use, some of which are 
extremely simple, while others arc just as complicated. The one I am 
going to describe belongs to the former»category ; indeed, so simple is it 
in construction, that I saw one made a few days since with the aid of a 
couple of hair pins, two pieces of copper wire, a scrap of fire-wood, and 
half a dozen tacks, which might have been used to work through tho 
Atlantic Cable. Our commutator will not, however, be quite so homely. 
The commutator is fixed on the base-board of the apparatus, as shown 
in Figs. 5 and G. Fig. 5 gives a side view ; Fig. 6 a bird's-eyo view of 
the way in which it is put together. In Fig. 5, A B is tho base-board. 
C a piece of brass half an inch wide by a sixteenth of an inch thick, 
reaching from one side to tho other, and screwed down firmly to tho 
base-board. D is a block of wood half an inch wide and one inch long, 
also screwed down to tlio base-board flush with tho edge ; there is a 
corresponding piece on tho other side (D, in Fig. 6), so that a piece of 



82 ZLYllHY EOT Zi3 CiVX XJ^-JrACTUIIEr.. 

brass, H, simikir in all respects to C, Trill form a kind of bridge wlien 
screwed down to those little blocks. E is a slip of -wood half an inch 
vdde and seven-sixteenths thick, which reaches quite across the board, 
and is firmly screwed down to it. F G is one of two sli^DS of brass, of luj 
convenient length, say four inches, and of the same breadth and thickness 
as the others, which we shall henceforth call the right and left-hand 
keys. 

Before being nxed in their places they must be well hammered, so as 
to convert them into springs : they are then screwed down to the wooden 
slip E. so that when untouched they reuiain in close contact with the 
brass bridge H. When either of them is pressed down, It will touch the 
brass slip C. and when the finger is raised it springs back to its former 
position. 

Fig. 6 is a bird's-eye view of the apparatus, the same letters being 
used as in Fig. 5. It also shows how the different parts of the commu- 
tatOT are connected with the battery and the signahziug apparatus at 
each end of the line. Thus the brass bridge H' H is connecting with 
the copper, and the brass fillet C' C with the zinc of the battery. 

TTe will now supi)ose that you have made two iustruments, with bat- 
teries, commutators, tmd coils complete, one to work in the front, the 
-<yther in the back parlor. TVe wlU call the first Xo. 1 and the second 
Xg. 2- TTe win also suppose that you have laid two lines, A and B, of 
X©- 20 cotton-covered copper wire, between the two stations. Begin- 
ning with apparatus Xo. 1, connect the brass bridge with the copper, 
and the brass slip with the zinc of the battery. Connect the left-hand 
key with coil Xo. 1, and the other end of the coil with line-wire A. 
Connect the right-hand key with line-wire B. So far, apparauis Xo. 1. 
^0. 2 is connected in a precisely similar way. Connect the brass bridge 
.of commutator Xp. 2 with the copper, and the brass slip with the zinc 
of battery Xo. 2. Connect the left-hand key with, one end of c-oil Xo. 2, 
the other end being joined to line-wire B. Connect the right-hand key 
with line-wire A. and the whole series of connecrlons are complete. If 
you draw them out on paper fii'st. you will find very little dimculty ki 
the matter. 

Ton now post your companion at Xo. 2 apparatus, you yourself being 
at Xo. 1. and you press down, let us say, the right key of your oyn com- 
mutator. If your needle move5 there is no doubt about his needle mov- 
ing also. If, however, neither moves, you must have made some mistake 
in the joining up the connections, or else their surfaces are dirty at the 
points of contact. A vigorous apphcation of the file or a piece of glass- 
paper will soon remedy this defect. Another cause of failure in the con- 
nections may be the keys not pressing with sufficient force against the 
brass bridge, or through their nor quite making contact with it when 
pressed down. 



EVEF.Y EOT HIS OWN MAXUFACTUEEE. £3 

You will also possibly find that the needle is so disobedient as lo move 
to the right when you press the left key, and vice versa. This fault is 
J!9l_, G easily set right by reversing the con- 

IE nections of the battery. 

^ Having succeeded in getting vour 
•■ needles at both ends of the line to 

work in harmony, you must next set yourself to learn the following tele- 
graphic alphabet, or code, as it is technically termed. K, of course, 
means once to the right, 11 E, twice to the right, and so on. 




L R rt : L R R K ./ I' I^ L Si 

RLLL 6:R L R A" K t 

L R L L r L L R ll 

RR mijli L R 

R L n L R R XO 

RR R RL L R X 

L R R L p R L R R y 

RRL R q RRLL Z 

L U L >■ ! 



R L R L C 

R R L d 

L e 

LLRL / 

RRL 'ff 

LLL L - h 

h L / 



The best way to begin is to commence with the simplest letters first. 
these are e, t, a, i, m, n, and to send words composed of these backward 
and forward until you find you can use them with ease. Then you add 
o, which is three E's, and s, which is three L's. and so on until you have 
gained the whole. 

The connections between the wires and the brass bridge and slip, 
ought by rights to be soldered, but it is not every boy who is possessed 
of this very useful accomplishment. In default, the best way of joining 
up is to brighten the brass well about the screw-hole, and then screw 
down the wire, which must be made into a hook large enough to go 
round the screw, flattened and brightened, so that the two metals shall 
be in as close contact as possible. The connections between the commu- 
tator and the coils, and the line-wires should also bo soldered, as mere 
twisting is apt to work it loose. You must always recollect that weak 
electric currents, such as you would use, are decreased in strength by 
having to pass through a fine wire ; consequently, if the point of contact 
is reduced to a minimum, alarge amount of working force is wasted. All 
points of contact should therefore be as flat as possible, or in the case cf 
two wires, the points of contact should be made very numerous, by twist- 
ing them together several times. If the connections arc not soldered, 
they will require looking to now and then. 

Having got your instruments into working order, and having acquired 
some little dexterity in telegraphic manipulation, you will, no doubt, feel 
a great desire to remove your stations further apart ; ono at the end of 
the garden, for instance, and the otlier in the play-room at tlie topoftbo 
house. If you increase the length of your line-wires, you will also have 
to increase the number of cells in your battery. In order that you may 



84 



EYEEY BOY HIS OWX MAXUPACTUEEPv. 



1)0 able to do this intelligently^ it will be as well to say r« few words as 
to the power of batteries in general. It must be borne in mind that it is 
the size of the x)lates, and not the number' of cells, that constitutes the 
working power of a battery. The number of cells simply increases the 
traYeling power, so to speak, of the electric current. Let us suppose, 
for instance, that the stations of your telegraph are only a few yards 
apart. If you were to try to move the needle with a cell containing plates 
a quarter of an inch square, you would most likely fail. If you increased 
the number of quarter-inch cells to fifty, connected together alternately, 
you would still fail in moving the needle. Here the power is too small, 
although the sending force is large. Increase the size of only one of the 
cells, say to three inches square, and you obtain a most vigorous move- 
ment of the needle. Now increase the distance between your stations to 
say a hundred yards, and the result is a failure once more. The force is 
there, but it has not the ^'legs " — to use a cricketing phrase — to carry it 
so far. Add two or three cells, |and the sending power is immediately 
increased. So that the working force depends on the size of the plates, 
while the power to send that force to a distance is influenced by the num- 
ber of cells. You must also remember that the traveling power of the 
current is equally dependent on the size of the wire through which it has 
to pass. In the case of long lines, therefore, it is most economical to use 
thick wire in order to keep down the number of cells as much as possi- 
ble. 

In carrying your line-wires from 
one station to the other, you must 
take great care that they do not 
touch any metalhc or damp surface. 
If you can afford to use gutta-percha 
covered wire, well and good; if, how. 
ever, you are obliged to put up with 
bare copper or iron, you must take 
care to keep it well insulated by 
wrapping a thick coating of solid gut- 
ta-percha round every part that is in 
-^^ — ^ « » contact with any support. If you look- 

I I p at the telegraphic wires that run 

, \Z F8C9:6 ,, along the side of our railways, you 

will find that they are all most carefully insulated by beingpassed through 
porcelain or earthenware supports ; otherwise, the electric current would 
'^ leak" into the earth. 

The above account of the difference between the working and trav- 
eling power of an electrical current is perhaps not absolutely correct, but 
is quite near enough for all practical purposes. To explain the matter 
fully would necessitate the use of complicated mathematical formulco. 




EVERY BOY HIS OTVX aiaXUFACTUEEE. S5 

not to speak of the danger of angering the most indulgent of editors, by 
allowing mv power of traveling over paper, to pass beyond its proper 
limit. 

Your stations being now at some distance apart, you will not be able 
to call out to one another when you wish to make a communication; you 
will therefore have to contrive a calling apparatus for each end of the hue. 
This portion of the arrangement is very easily made. A horseshoe electro 
magnet, about four inches long and one-quarter of an inch thick, the helix 
of which is connected with the line-wkes, is fixed on a piece of board, 
with its poles standing upright; above it is suspended a little lever of soft 
iron, working in a pivot. One half of the lever rests about a quarter of an 
inch from the poles of the magnet, the other end resting about the same 
distance below a httle bell. When either of the keys is pressed down at 
either end of the line, the iron horseshoe is made magnetic, and attracts 
the iron lever, the other end of which strikes the bell. When the key 
is released, the lever falls back again. This little apparatus is so simi^ly 
put together that, with the knowledge you have already gained, you 
will have no difficulty in understanding it without illustrations ; in fact, 
you need not adhere implicitly to the directions given above. Thus, in- 
stead of a bell, you may use a piece of hard wood, and give your friends 
a series of spirit- wrapping seances that will rather astonish them, more 
especially, if you keep your telegraphic instrument out of their, but not of 
your, sight. When the line is in work, a little wooden wedge may be in- 
serted temporarily between the poles of the magnet and the lever, or 
the lever may be turned aside ; otherwise, you will create a continual 
ringing or rapping that would be rather a nuisance. 

The code of signals given above is that known universally as ,thG 
'-single-needle code." As you become practiced in the art of sending 
messages, you will find it convenient to invent a series of arbitrary sig- 
nals, such as, R R for '' repeat," L L for '' understand," 11 L for '' goon,-' 
and so on. 



HOW TO -MXIUZ A CHEAP TEETICAL 
DPJLLIXG :^[AOIIINE. 

Get a piece of stout 2 in., plank of some hard vrood (oak orbcccli), 12 
in. by 8 in. (Sec a. Fig. 1.) About 2 in. from one end firmly mortise 
another piece of the same wood, perpendicular, 10 in. high by (J in. thick- 
ness, B, Fig 1. Next make or procure a perfectly circular disk of wood 
i:, in. diameter, -i in. thick, with a deep groove round the edge. In 
the centre cut a neat hole, whicli may be lined with brass, by inserting 
firmly a small piece of brass tubing, \ in. bore. A1)0ut IV in. from the 



SG 



EVERY BOY HIS OTTX MAXUEACIUEEK. 



centre of this disk fasten a handle, d, which can be neatly turned out of 
hard wood. 3^ in. from the bottom of the upright B, and in the centre 
of its width, insert a piece of wire, c, which is to be the axle of the 
wheel, and must fit comfortably into the hole in the centre of the disk. (If 
a hole be drilled in the wire, and a pin, s, put in to keep the wheel or 
disk from slipping off, it will be an improvement.) Now buy one of 
those small brass pullies, about -} in. diameter (such as are used in shops 



for hanging up the scales) 




m the bottom 



of B, and directly over the axle, c. Next turn another disk, i, 2 in. dia- 
meter, with a groove round the edge like the large one. In the centre 
of this cut neatly a square hole, i in. each side. 

Get two pieces of inch-board, H and g, 5 in. hj 3 in. Nail H to the 
top of B, so that 3 in. of it projects beyond p.. G is to be mortised into 



EVEPwY BOY HIS OTVX ilA^TFACTUREK. 87 

B 5 in. from the bottom, and is to project the same as n, whichis exactly 
over it. Now 2 in, from b pierce holes in h and g, exactly in the middle 
of the width of the wood, and perpendicularly over each other. (It is 
of great consequence that they should be perpendicularly over each 
other. ) 

Now turn to Fig. 2, which represents the part which carries the drill. 
This may be made of brass, but mahogany, or any other nice hard wood 
will be as good, and cheaper. Total length, a r 9 in., a c 3 in., c r 2 
in., D r 4 in., b c and d e maybe i in. diameter, c d is to be cut square, 
each side being a little less than i in. The lower end e f is to be wider 
than the rest, and a square tapering hole cut up through it, in which the 
drills are to be put. A tightening screw, f, may also be added with ad- 
vantage. This is now to be put into the holes in h and G (as in Fig. 1), 
and the wheel i to be put on the square part c d. g and n must next be 
put in their places. Now glue a piece of wood, 1 in. diameter, to tho 
top of the drill-holder. See a b, Fig. 2 and Fig. 1. Pierce a hole dia- 
metrically through this, and fasten in it tightly a rod of brass or iron, o 
p. At each end of this rod fix a heavy ball of load. These are to bo 
equal in weight and equally distant from the centre (to act as a fiy- 
wheel and weight to press down the drill). An endless band of whip- 
cord or catgut is now to be carried round the large wheel e, over the 
pully F, through holes made in tlie upright b, and round the small wheel 
r. Lastly, cut a square hole in the bed-plate a, 1 in. each side, as 
shown by the dotted lines at ir. 

Our drill is now complete. 

When the handle d is turned the drill-holder revolves with great ra- 
pidity. And as the square part c d fits loosely into the wheel i, the 
weight of the balls of lead presses down the drill into the work below. 
The hits may be purchased cheaply at any tool shop, but those of a 
brace can be used if the amateur has them. Tho drill in one form or 
another is an almost indispensable machine in an amateur's work-shop, 
and the cheapness of the one here described will be found a great re- 
commendation. 



a simple galvai^ic bati:ery. 

For quickly forming a good, f^hoap, and powerful galvanic battery, wa 
believe no method is more available than that given by Dr. Goldingbird. 
'•' Procure the bowls of six tobacco pipes, and stop up the holes, left by 
breaking off tho stems, with sealing wax. Place on the table six small 
glass tumblers, each an inch high, like those used by children as toys ; 
place in each a cylinder of amalgamated zinc; let a pipe-bowl rest in 



83 



EYEEY EOY niS OVrX MA^'UFACTUPvEr.. 



each /^Tlinderj and place iu every one a slip of thin platinum foil, one 
and a quarter inches long and half an inch vride, connected at the zinc 
cylinder by platinum wire : fill the pipe-bowls with nitric acid, and the 
tumblers with diluted sulphuric acid : and an energetic current of elec- 
tricity will be set free, capable of decomposing water, igniting wire, 
charcoal points, etc.'' 



HOW TO MAKE A DIOEAMA. 

Most boys are eager to construct a peep-show of some kind or other, 
and their efforts occupy very many pleasant hours during the long even- 
ings of winter. In the absence, however, of some competent guide and 
judicious helping hand, the peep-shows constructed by our young friends 
are for the most part crude, clumsy, and inartistic. The same amount 
of care, ingenuity, and labor, if properly directed, would lead to very 
pleasing and satisfactory results. We propose to give some suggestions 
as to the construction of cosmoramas, panoramas, dioramas, and similar 
pictorial illusions, commencing with the latter. 




A favorite peep-show among boys is the stage; but we never saw 
one, even if ''got up regardless of expense,'^ that was not ridiculous when 
viewed critically. First, the drawing and coloring of the scenes was in- 
accurate and tawdry ; secondly, the figures introduced upon the stage (the 
characters, in fact)were in most extravagant and preposterous attitudes, 
which, as they could not be varied, gave the figures the aspect of being 
stuck and petrified. Then the loading of these figures witti tinsel is the 
worst possible taste, besides being utterly at variance with true princi- 
ples of art. We cannot, therefore, recommend our boys to expend their 
money and ingenuity upon the stage ; we have something better in store 
for them. 

As it is impossible to give action to the animated beings that are in- 
troduced in the pictures of a peep-show, we must select such as are in a 



EYEEY EOY HIS 0"^'X MAXUFACTCEErv. ?9 

State of inaction or repose. We cannot represent a traveler TralkiuL; 
along a road, but we can make him sitting on a stone, or the trunk of a 
tree, taking rest, without inconsistency. So also a hoy may be repre- 
sented sitting on the parapet of a bridge angling, because that pursuit 
demands quiet; so also, if the scene admits of a flock of sheep reposing, 
the shepherd may be introduced tuning his pipe, adding to the illusion 
of the scene, rather than detracting from it. 

The most interesting view lacks interest unless living creatures are 
introduced into it ; therefore, it is necessary to seek such subjects as may 
be employed without jarring upon our ideas of possibility, or marring the 
general effect of the picture. 

A diorama is a picture which presents its subject under a two-fold 
aspect; it is a double picture, or rather two pictures in one. This result 
is obtained by painting the subject on both sides of the canvas ; one side, 
or the front, being viewed by reflected light, as we ordinarily view pic- 
tures and other objects; the other side being made visible by the light 
passing through the canvas — it is, in fact, a transparency. 

By this mode of treatment, the subject depicted on the canvas may be 
represented under widely different aspects. Thus, a landscape may 
appear under the ordinary efiects of sunlight when viewed by reflected 
light, and as a moonlight vievr, or under the influence of a passing 
shower and thunder-storm, with rainbow, when viewed by transmitted 
light. Or the landscape may be flrst seen under the garb of spring, with 
its green foliage and blue sky, and afterward shov\-n with a wintry garb of 
snow and a gloomy sky. 

An architectural subject, the interor of a cathedral, for instance, may 
be first shown as daylight, and vacant ; next as illuminated for a mid- 
night mass, with throngs of people worshiping. Thus, it will be seen, 
the diorama affords a wide scope for the exercise of ingenuity and taste, 
while its results are of a most pleasing and instructive character. 

The effects described may be produced on any scale. The original 
dioramic pictures were between three and four thousand feet in super- 
ficial measure, and the illusion was so perfect, that it was difficult to 
believe it to be produced by painting] on canvas. The same effects, 
though not so startling, may be obtained by a carefully constructed port- 
able diorama. 

The portable diorama consists of a box, constructed so as to show a 
picture under varying influences of light. The box itself is a very simple 
aflair, which any carpenter can put together ; the greater amount of skill 
is demanded by the pictures, which require to l)e well drawn, and painted 
by one acquainted with tiie principles of the art of painting. 

The top cover being gradually lifted, and the color-screen romovod, 
the picture will be seen under the aspect of noon-day; after which Iho 
tints of the atmosphere will acquire an orange hue, which nuist bo given 




,00 EYEEY EOY ni3 OVv'X MAXUFACTUEEE. 

by the inlroductiou Of appropriately tinted screens. A passing storm 
and shower may next be shown ; then the storm clearing off^ with the 
landscape illumined by the purple and golden rays of the setting sun. 
This change is effected by gradually closing the cover 
in the top of the box, during the thunder-storm, and 
gradually opening the cover at the back, which, with 
appropriately colored screens, will produce the proper 
sunset effect, the snowy tops of the mountains being 
tinged with red; and if the picture is skillfully painted, 
the sunset may be succeeded by twilight with the 
crescent mooa in the west, changing the color of the screens from red to 
blue. 

It would be impossible to enumerate all the eff"ects that may be pro- 
duced by a skillful painter. Those described above will suggest many 
others. Endless variations of light and shade and tint may be obtained 
by management of the covers and screens, either separately or in combi- 
nation. One cover may be partially closed, and the other wholly open ; 
or both may be partially closed ; or the top may remain open while the 
end is shut, or the top shut while the end is open, according to the effect 
aimed at. 

All the eff"ects attempted in a picture must necessarily be carefully 
rehearsed [.before exhibition : the screens must also be conspicuoush' 
marked with a letter or a number, and a memorandum of instructions 
drawn up for the management of each picture, to guide the exhibitor 
unerringly during the display. Provision may also be made for the imi- 
tation of thunder and lightning, rain and hail, and the noise of falling 
water, the whistling of the wind, etc. 

To a young beginner, who does not possess sufficient skill to i)aint 
elaborate pictures, engravings of a certain class may be made subservient. 
For a diorama on a small scale, the engravings of public buildings, 
monuments, etc., offer an excellent resource. 

In the diorama, it will be understood, the picture is contained on a 
simple flat surface of canvas or paper. 



I-IOW^ TO MAKE A OLOCE: FOE TW'EIsTT- 
FIVE CEXTS. 

Yes, boys, a clock — a real clock, for twenty-live cents — not a mere 
make-believe, but a clock that will go for hours, and will tell the correct 
time, and even ring an alarm to call you up in the morning if you wish 
it ; and all this you can make for yourselves at a cost not exceeding 



EVEKY EOY HIS O^TX MAXUFACTUKEr.. 



twenty-five cents. It need not cost you so much if you are ingenious. 
It will cost you but little more if you let others make the framework for 
you. 

I made one of these clocks many years ago. It went admirably, and 
it used to hang in my bed-room, and would ring me up punctually in the 
morning when I wanted to go bathing or fishing, and could not trust to 
my wakefulness alone ; besides, it introduced me to some novel ideas, 
andafibrded me au opportunity of displaying my decorative abilities on 
its case. In mv jrrandmother's house there was an old 

days in 
into the pul- 
pits, and one is shown in Hogarth's print of the sleepy 
congregation. There is one still existing at St. John's 
, Church, Bristol, England, where I saw it not long ago, 
B and it reminded me of my old clock so forcibly that I 
fancied there must be many boys who would like to 
make one. 

'"Ob,"' I hear some boys say, ''it's only a sand-glass 
after all." 

p. _t^ But it is not only a sand-glass — it is 



f^-^^^^^f—*f^ hour-glass. Thev were common enough in thos( 
• f'/^^^^^~^\<i 'country places. They even found their way into 



• a clock with hands, face, weights, and 
all the other appendages to a well- 
regulated clock. It looks like a clock ; 
it keeps time like a clock : it is as use- 



A 



c 



ful as a clock ; it is about ten times as 
cheap as the cheapest clock ; and there- 
fore it is a clock. 

Look at it, and you must say that ic 
is a clock ; and then I will tell you 
how to make it. 

First, you get a sheet of stout mill- 
board, such as is used by bookbinders, 
which will cost you from G to 8 cents, 
according as you have quarto or octavo. 
I prefer the thicker, and therefore in- 
vest eight cents in a sheet of royal 
millboard, 27 by 22, to begin with. I 
Fig. 1. Pig. 2. then with a penknife cut out the front 

in this shape (Fig. 2). The width of the face is 10 inches, the lengthy 
12 inches, including the crown ; the shaft is accordingly 15 inches long 
and 4 inches broad. The remainder of the millboard is then 
marked into tlnx-e divisions of 4 inches wide, or as near that as tho 
board will allow. It is only important that it should bo in three 
equal divisions, as in Fig. -3. By means of a straight-edge and a 



02 



ETEKY ECr E:S OYv'X lIAXUFACTrEEE. 



knife, the board is partly cut through along the dotted hues, H H 
H H, and totally through the short mark at M. The hoard 
is then hcnt along the grooves, and glued with strips of 
calico to the back of the front, so that it forms a hollovr 
tube or case some 4 inches square and 27 inches long, 
as shown m section, Fig. 3. Any tinman will make 
the funnel-shaped end of the tube 
shown at C. It is generally cut out 
of tin hke an extinguisher, and a 
small hole left at the point, whilst the 
upper end is squared so as to fit the 
tube. Mine cost six cents, and it was 
soldered to a square cap, which fitted 
the inside of the tube. My only other 
" expense out of pocket," as the law- 
yers say, was the turning of the cone 
at Fig. 4. This cost me eight cents. 
I had the spindles cut out of the same 
piece of wood. The cone was 4 inches 
long, and varied from 2i to 1 inch in 
diameter ; it was grooved end to end. 
The front spindle was left one inch 
long ; the hind spindle half an inch. 
I paid three cents for the sand neces- 
sary to fill the tube at S. This I 
washed, sifted n.nd dried, myself, so as to free it from stones and irregular 
impurities. With these materials, which cost me in a large town exactly 
twenty -five cents, I made my clock. First I drew a clock face, and 
painted the dial on a sheet of paper, which I pasted on the front. I was 
very careful to have the axis of the spindle exactly in the centre of the 
face. I cut the hand of my clock out of cardboard, and I ornamented 
the case with fancy forms, so as to give it an oriental look. I then filled 
the case with dry sand, as at S, Fig. 4. The weight K, I made of a piece 
of sandstone ; but I have since found that a small empty stone ink-bot- 
tle answers the purpose admirably, and permits of easy adjustment. To 
the neck of the bottle a piece of whip-cord is tied, by means of a noose, 
so that it hangs freely and level. I pass the end of the cord round the 
spindle once or twice, through the door left at M, Fig. 3, and I pass the 
other end through the hole marked N, Fig 3, so that it hangs down. At 
this end of the cord a small weight is attached, as at L, Fig. 4 ; which 
may be increased, or otherwise, so as to assist in regulating the clock. 
Let us now hang the clock up, and see how it keeps time. The sand 
runs through the aperture at the bottom into a vase, basin, or jug : as 
it runs out, the weight K descends, thus causing the spindle to revolve. 



Fig. 4. 



Fig. 3 



EVERY BOY HIS OWX MAXUFACTUrvEIl. 93 

Tlie great object now is to regulate the clock, and this is easily done 
by shifting the cord on the spindle and by adding a little to the weight. 
If the aperture at the bottom is of the right size, the sand will not sink 
more than an inch or an inch and a half per hour. A gallon of sand 
contains 350 cubic inches, and it will fill the tube 18 inches high above 
the cone, so that tlie clock will go from 10 to IG hours without intermis- 
sion, and when once regulated, will keep exact time. , 

To wind it up, the weight K must be elevated by pulling the end of 
the cord L, and the sand is then poured in at the top. Tlic time must 
be noted before the clock is wound up, so that it may be set at the right 
time again. 

But how aboutthe alarm ? As soon as the rate of going is ascertained — 
for the sand runs out regularly while there is an inch left in it — the case 
should be marked on the side where the cord hangs, like a graduated 
scale. By this means the weight L may be made to release a spring at 
a given time as it pa.sses upward, and by that means ring a bell;^ I 
mast say that this apparatus seldom repays the trouble, and is simply tin 
CiTort of ingenuity, when done. On the other hand, the clock is a useful 
article; it affords a lesson on the laws of forces and mechanical powers. 

With respect to the ornamentation, I have shown at 0, Fig. 4, a small 
shelf and bracket. This I made out of the spare millboard, and is use- 
ful to place a lamp or bougie on, or it may hold a small bouquet of flow- 
ers. If a few cents is no object, I should recommend the whole of the 
case to be painted with Brunswick black, a small bottle of which may 
be obtained at the painter's. When this varnish is Cry, the edges may 
be smoothed with sand-paper or rounded with a knife. Colored figures, 
flowers, or ornaments may be then pasted firmly on in a fantastic man- 
ner, and the whole varnished -^i^h carriage or copal varnish. 

Though I have shown how an <:zceHcnt sand-clock may be made for 
twenty-five cents, I may, in conclusion, mention that it iz by no means 
indispensable that millboard should be used. A piece of tin piping some 
two feet long would be better. The head, face, and tube may be made 
of wood, or the whole may be modeled from paper pulp. I h^ve given 
the i)rinciplo, and the ingenuity of our boys will vary the details to suit 
their varied tastes, appliances, and opportunities. 



nO}»IE-^IAD]': BEAOKETS. 

We offer a few designs of brackets for lami);:, brush, or nick-narks, to 
be made of pieces of pine, chestnut, maple;, \uikiut, or other wood, half 
inch or less thick, and oiled or varnished. 

To produce Figure 1, lay out a square of nine inches. With a com- 



P4 



J:\EIIY r>OY HIS OWX MANUFACIUllEr.. 



pass point placed midway between the corners on each side, strike four 
Iialf-circles, to form the scollops. Saw, or wlnttle out, the shape given 
in the eugraving, for the hack or wall piece. If the shelf is required to bo 
wide or deep, make it the half of a circle of eleven inches diameter; but 
if less width is preferred, use a narrower piece of a larger circle. Cut 
out a brace to put under the shelf. With brads nail all the parts firmly 
togethej. Bore the hole to hang up by, and it is complete. 




Fig. 1. Fig. 2. Fig. 3. 

For Figure 2, a nine-inch square, with circles at each corner of two 
inches diameter, having holes bored in of half inch. Shelf and brace 
as given in the design. Nail together securely. 

For Figure 3, make a circle of nine inches ; at a distance within the 
circle of one inch, set the compass point to strike the four circles of three 
inches diameter. For the shelf, make a half hexagon, or octagon, as 
the straight lines will make a pleasing contrast with the curved lines. 
The brace to be of one simple curve and short straight part. In this 
design, if the shelf extends the total width of the back-piece, it will look 
well. 




Fig. 4. 



Fig. 5. 



Fig. 6. 



Figure 4, to be ten inches square. With auger bore two holes on each 
side of each corner, to produce the indentations ; cut the line straight 
^rom the inside of each hole to the corresponding one nearest to it on 



EVERY BOY HIS 0"\VX ITAXUFACTUEErt. 9o 

the same side. Mark out the proportions indicated in the engraving-, 
with compass and rule, or by the aid of paper pattern. The shelf 
should not extend farther than shown in the design. 

Figure 5, by the aid of a paper pattern, can be easily marked out 
without other directions than already given for the other designs, and 
the accompanying engraving. 

Figure 6, a corner bracket, is not so diOicult to construct as it would 
seem at first glance. Two wall pieces, cut out by pattern, and nailed 
together at a right angle, with shelf affixed, are all that is required. 



parisia:n wiiatxot. 

The materials for this handy article in sitting or bedrooms are easily 
obtained and put together. A sheet of stout pasteboard for the founda- 
tion, cut into three pieces, for the back, bottom, and front, should be 
covered with cloth, or any other substance suitable ; on the front piece, 
which should be longer than the back by several inches, to allow of the 




bending out required to form the receptacle, you can sew on any cut-out 
oraaments of silk or velvet ; or embroidery or colored binding will an- 
swer as well. The addition of a bright colored silken cord and tassels 
finishes this useful and pretty ornament. 



gildi]:nCt o'n glass. 

Dissolve in boiled linseed oil an e([ual weight cither of copal or amber, 
and add as much oil of turpentine as will enable you to apply the com- 
pound or size thus formed as thin as possible to the ])arts of glass intended 
to be gilt. The glass is to be jjlaccd in a stove till it is so warm as al- 
most to burn the fingers when handled. At this tcinperatiuT, the size 



IH.) 



ETEEY BOY HIS OTTX MAXUFACTUEEK. 



being adhesive, a piece of gold leaf applied in the usual ^ay will im- 
mediately stick. Sweep off the superfluous portions of the leaf; and 
when quite cold it may be burnished, taking care to interpose a piece of 
Indian paper between the gold and the burnisher. 



IIAH"GI]SrG POETEOLIO. 

This is to be made of pasteboard covered with gilt or wnite satin pa- 
per. It can bo made of any size you wish. It may be left plaiD; or a 




picture pasted on in front. Lace the sides together with a cord %v rib- 
bon. Hang with a cord and tassel. This is ornamental, and useful for 
holding small articles. 



HOW TO MAKE BALLOOISrS. 

Take tissue paper, (red, white and blue looks the best), and cut it into 
strips forty inches long, twelve inches wide in the middle, six inches 
wide at the lower end, and tapering off to a point at the other end. 

Cut eight or nine of these strips and paste them carefully together, so 
as to have the points meet well at the top ; then get a hoop about 
eighteen inches in diameter, or the size of the lower end of your balloon, 
and paste the balloon on to it so as to hold it open ; and when it is en- 
tirely dry your balloon is done. 

The way to send up a balloon is to place a sponge on a wire stretched 
across the noop ; then pour alcohol on the sponge and set it on fire ; and 
continue to pour on the alcohol until the balloon rises. The burning 
alcohol generates gas. 



ETEET EOT HIS OW^" irANTTACirKER. 



97 



TO ^lAHE THE LIME LIGHT EXHIBIT- 
ED AT THEATRES. 

In order to exhibit this beautiful light with an apparatus of one's oxn 
construction, it is necessary, first of all, to provide a square pine box 13 
in. long, by 16 iu. high ; blacken the inside of it with lamp-black and 
size ; then affix to the top of the box a tin top similar to that of a magic- 
lantern, to act as the chimnev, and carry off the heat. 




In the centre of the bottom of the box cut a small hole sufficiently 
large to admit the blow-pipe, and one inch and a half behind this small 
hole bore a smaller one with a gimlet, which is intended for the spindlo 
to go through that holds the lime. 

Now cut a round hole, 7 in. in diameter, in*the centre of the front of 
the box. and here there should be a sliding panel in a groove, so as to 
open and shut on the light at will ; for the lenses arc placed at this hole. 

Provide yourself with three plano-convex lenses, white, green, and red. 
similar to tliose used for signals on the railways — these are employed to 
produce the various colored effects suggested by the scenic artist, and 
each lens should be fixed in a small frame. 

Pass the spindle through the little hole made with the gimlet, then 
drop on to it the cylinder of lime. Through the other hole in the bottom 
of the box, pass the blow-pipe, so that when fixed the point of the blow- 
pipe shall be opposite the centre of the Ume, and so close to it as to ad- 



98 



EVEEY BOY HIS OWK MAlTUrACTUKEE. 



mit a five-cent piece to pass freely between the lime and the point of 
the blow-pipe. 

We may here explain that the blow-pipe stuffing-box (in which the 
gases mix), and the brass tubing attached to it, with a stop-cock to 
each end of the the tubing, are sold all in one piece. 

Vulcanized india-rubber tubing, of any length, half an inch in diame- 
ter, must now be attached to each of these stop-cocks, and at each 
other end of the India-rubber tubing must be attached a gas bag. 

Having filled one bag with oxygen gas, and the other with hydrogen 
gas, it is desirable first to turn on the hydrogen, and light it so as to 
warm the lime, then gradually turn on the oxygen, and the brilliant hght 
is produced. The colors are varied by changing the lenses before the 
front of the box. 

You must occasionally turn the spindle round that holds the lime. 

In the diagram below we have taken out one side of the box to show 
the arrangement of the interior, which will enable ourreaders to fully 
understand the description of it here given. 




Now to manufacture tiie gases. Procure a retort, the globe part of 
which must be made of copper, and 4 in. diameter, with a screw to open 
at the top for putting in the ingredients ; a little below the top (at the 
side) a short piece of copper tubing, about 2 in. in length, should be 
brazed in,, and to this affix with a union joint about 5 feet of patent gas 
piping, turned up at the extreme end, which end place in the pail of 
water and into the little bee hole under the purifier. 

Take a common pail, three parts filled with water, into which place 
the purifier — this purifier is made of tin, somewhat in the form of a bee- 
hive, hollow, no bottom, a small opening in the top, and another small 
opening at the side; just where the bees would go in. Into the opening 



EVERY BOY HIS OWN MANUFACTUEEE. 99 

at the top is a brass neck and union-joint attached, into which affix a 
piece of flexible tubing 3 or 4 feet in length, the other end of which at- 
tach to your oxygen gas bag. 

Unscrew the top of the retort, and place in it f lb. of chlorate of pot- 
ash, and ilb. of powdered manganese, which must first be well mixed 
together, then screw on the top again. Place a spirit lamp with a good 
flame under the retort. The gas will soon commence to give ofif— take 
care that the stop-cock of your gas bag is turned the proper way for the 
gas to enter the bag. The diagram illustrates the process. 

The hydrogen gas you can procure in this way ; affix the india-rub- 
ber flexible tubing to the female joint of any gas burner — taking care 
that all the air is first expelled from the pipe — and your hydrogen bag 
will soon be filled. 

• In order to force the gases out of your bags to produce a brilliant 
light, have two boards lightly constructed, in a wedge-shape with 
hinges ; you will require two sets of these, one for each bag. Place them 
between ; it will be necessary to have holes made in the boards beveled, 
to alow the stop-cocks to come through. 

Now place weights, either of shot or bags of sand, upon the boards, to 
produce the pressure ; an equal weight should be placed on each bag. 

We may just remind you that after making the oxygen gas, you should 
immediately wash out your retort, and dry it well before again using. 

You will find it convenient, in exhibiting the light, to place the appa- 
ratus (cut 1) on a frame with four legs. An old worn-out cane-bottom- 
ed chair makes an excellent stand. 



THE AET OF MAKING FIREWORKS. 



CHAPTER I. 



The Art of making Fireworks, whether for military or ornamontal 
purposes, appears to have been known in one form or another from timo 
immemorial. The Chinese seem to have practiced it many centuries 
before the birth of Christ, and the ancient Hindoos undoubtedly used a 
species of rocket both for signaling and as missiles. The Greek fire 
mentioned so often by classical authors, about the comj)osition of which 
there have been so many disputes among learned men, seems to have 
been a compound of salti)ctrc, sulphur, and possibly petroleum or i)itch, 
which, when once ignited, could only be put out with the greatest difliculty. 

Pyrotechny was first practiced in Europe by the Florentines in the 
13th century, and soon sj)rcad to France, CJermany, and England. Mod- 
ern chemistry has done much for the art in the way of introducing now 



100 EVERT BOY HIS O^TS MAXTFACTUREE. 

materials or improved methods of combining old ones, until it has reached 
a pitch of excellence beyond which it would be difficult to go. Thp 
magnificent displays that were to be seen on the occasion of the Em- 
peror's fetes in Paris were the admiration of everybody, and the silly 
idea that was formerly entertained by certain "overwise people that fire- 
works were only fit for children, has long since passed. 

There is also a notion that firework making is a somewhat dangerous 
amusement, which requires to be exploded. Danger, after all, is only a 
question of exercising more or less care and prudence. The lack of 
these two qualities will transform every action of life into a dangerous 
operation, from crossing the road to climbing the Alps. Any accidents 
that have occurred to firework makers can all be traced to the ignorant 
or foolhardy conduct of some of the people employed. It is true that 
several of the compounds used in pyrotechny are dangerous under cer- 
tain conditions, but never let those conditions arise, and the danger 
ceases. For instance, the young experimentalist should as soon think of 
mixing firework compositions by night as of drawing his knife across the 
back of his hand. All operations, of whatever description, connected 
with the making of fireworks, should be performed by daylight only, not 
merely for prudential reasons, but because it is impossible to tell by 
candle light whether the various compositions are properly mixed or not. 
Certain pyrotechnists have been in the habit of giving receipts for mix- 
tures that by keeping become spontaneously explosive, but it is hardly 
necessary to say that none of these dangerous compounds will be de- 
scribed ill the present article. The causes of these accidents are now 
well known, and the materials giving rise to the danger have long since 
been discarded by all prudent firework makers. 

Many of the operations connected with pyrotechny are rather dusty 
and dirty in their character ; common tidiness, therefore, will dictate the 
necessity of wearing one's oldest clothes while at this kind of work. All 
chemicals and compounds used should be kept in closely-corked bottles, 
and, as many of them are poisonous, they ought to be locked up in a 
warm, dry cupboard, when not in use. It is as well to carry on the 
mixing of the compositions and the filling of the cases upon an old metal 
tray, as many of the compounds into which fine charcoal enters, are very 
difficult to get out of table-cloths, carpets, and clothes. 

We will begin by describing the various chemicals used, then the few 
pieces of apparatus necessary, and lastly the method of making the 
various kinds of fireworks, beginning with the simplest of all, the ordi- 
nary cracker, and ending with the rocket — the cJief cTceuvre of modem 
pyrotechny. 

The materials described below should all be purchased of a first-rate 
operative chemist. It is most foolish economy to purchase such articles 
at the nearest chemist's, and is the great cause of failure amongst ama- 



:oi 



d2S3t»>t»i 



ample 
- It 



of tiieiiitixii 
?okinficpover 
^flrdiecnaici 



-jthecadsof 



;^ier^ Imt with tct; 
- '-2«e, bat thee:: 






102 EVERY BOY HIS OWX MAXUFACTUEER. 

gerous, causing the spontaueous combustion of the compositions con- 
taining them. 

Gum.* — Ordinary gum arabic is sometimes used in making rocket 
and Eoman candle stars, but a little thin starch will answer the purpose 
just as well. 

GuxpoWDEE.* — Ordinary grain gunpowder, or cornpowder, as it is 
technically termed, is much used as an explosive agent in squibs, crack- 
ers, maroons, and mines. When reduced to fine powder it is known as 
meaJpotvder, and enters into the composition of a number of compounds. 
Cornpowder can be bought anywhere, but mealpowder should be pro- 
cured from the operative chemist's. Never attempt to grind it for your- 
self, as it is too difficult and dangerous an operation. 

Ieox Filixgs. — These should be from cast, and not wrought iron. They 
should not be too fine. They are much used for sparkling fire for squibs, 
pin-wheels, &c. They must be carefully preserved from damp, as they 
rust very easily. The filings from ordinary work-shops are generally 
too rusty and greasy for use in pyrotechny, besides beiug]]mixed with 
dirt and filth. 

Lampblack. — Used for the same purposes as fine charcoal. Five 
cents' worth from the druggist's will last for years. It should be heated 
red-hot in a fire-shovel before use, to drive off any oil with which it may 
be contaminated. 
MealpotvdePv. See GrxpowroEP. 

Lead, Chloeide of. — Much used in blue and red fires. It serves to 
bring down the tendency to orange and yellow caused by impurities in 
the other ingredients with which it is associated. Calomel was formerly 
employed for this purpose, but chloride of lead replaces it perfectly. Bed 
lead and litharge arc used in certain compositions. These two may be 
bought at the druggist's. Nitrate of lead is a valuable ingredient in 
several compounds. Great care must be taken to procure the pursalt. 
Nitee. See Potash, Niteate of. 

Potash, Niteate of.* — This important compound, commonly known 
as nitre and saltpetre, is the soul of pyrotechny, so to speak, seeing that 
it enters into the composition of nearly every compound used in making 
fireworks. It should be procured in a state of the finest powder, and 
well dried before use. It is hardly necessary to say that it must be kept 
in a well-corked bottle. When strongly heated it gives off large quan- 
tities of oxygen, and enables such incombustible materials as iron and 
steel filings to burn with great brilliancy. Chlorate of potash is another 
most valuable salt, and possesses all the virtues of nitrate of potash in 
an exalted degree, producing large quantities of oxygen at a compara- 
tively low heat. In making colored fires it is invaluable, and enters into 
the composition of nearly every one of them. One caution is necessary 



EVERY BOY HIS OVTS MAXUFACTURER. 103 

touching this salt : never, under any circumstances whatever, pound or 
powder chlorate of potash in any composition containing it. 

Resln".* — Common resin, ground to a fine powder, is often used as a 
substitute for shellac in this manufacture of colored fires, hut the latter 
article is so easily procurable at a cheap rate, that it is hardly worth 
while to substitute resin for it, more especially as certain colors arc 
greatly dulled by the large amount of smoke it produces. 

Shellac* — If you have a good pestle and mortar and a strong arm, 
you may buy this material at the druggist's, and pound it for yourself. 

Soda, Bicarboxate of. — Five cents' worth of common salt may be 
bought at any druggist's. The oxalate, howevep, should be bought of 
some first-class chemist. The two salts are used in making orange and 
yellow fine. 

Steel Filixgs. — Those are much used in sparkling compositions. 
They resemble cast iron filings in their properties, and should not be 
used in too fine a state of division. {See Irox Filixcs.) 

Stroxtia, Nitrate of. — This salt is the principal basis of most red 
fires. Unfortunately for the pyrotechnist, it has one very great fault — 
it is, in the language of the chemist, deliquescent ; that is to say, it has 
an insuperable tendency to absorb water from the atmosphere, and be- 
comes so damp that its combustible properties are entirely destroyed. 
The salt must therefore be dried by artificial means, before it is used in 
pyrotechny. A small earthenware pipkin is placed on a slow fire with 
about half a pound of the salt, and constantly stirred. As the heat in- 
creases it gradually dissolves itself into a liquid mass. The stirring 
must now be kept up vigorously, and as the water evaporates the salt 
assumes the form of a light powder. It should next bo pounded finely 
in a mortar, and preserved in closely-corked bottles. Any compositions 
containing this salt should be used almost immediately after they are 
made; otherwise they become damp and useless. The carbonate is a 
white powder, without the deliquescent properties of the nitrate ; but, 
as in the case of salts of baryta, its colorific power is greatly inferior. 

Sulphur. — Great care must be exercised in procuring washed sul- 
phur, for if it is contaminated with tho smallest portion of sulphuric 
acid, it is not fit to form part of any mixture containing chlorate of pot- 
ash. The use of impure sulphur has, no doubt, been the cause of nu- 
merous explosions in firework factories. You may easily verify the fact 
for yourself by mixing equal i)arts of pounded sugar and chlorate of 
potash, and touching the mixture with a glass rod dipped into sulpliuric 
acid ; tho wholo bursts into flamo immediately. To make assurance 
doubly sure, it is perhaps just as well for every one to wash their own 
sulphur. The process is exceedingly simple. Throw half a i)()un(l of 
flowers of sulphur into a pint jug, and fill it up with hike-warm water. 
Stir it up briskly, and allow the whole to settle for half an hour, then 



104 EYEUT BOY HIS OWK MAXTjFACTUIlEU. 

pour off as much of the clear water as you can. Repeat this process 
twice, and spread the wet sulphur on a plate with a spoon. Place the 
whole in a cool oven, and when thoroughly dry, powder the mass with 
your fingers. Half a pound treated in this way will last you for years. 

Having laid in a small stock of materials — those marked with an as- 
terisk will do very well to begin with — we must next get together a few 
pieces of apparatus, which, for the present, will be very simple. A flat 
piece of board, say 2 feet by 2 feet, to form a table for making the cases 
upon ; another piece of smooth board, 2 feet by 8 inches, for rolling the 
eases ; a piece of brass rod i of an inch in diameter and 8 inches long ; 
a piece of steel wire 3-16 of an inch in diameter and a foot long ; two 
tin funnels about 2 inches diameter at the mouth, the tube of one being 
J of an inch, and of the other i of an inch in diameter; two pieces of 
brass wire, 1 foot long, and i and 1-16 inches in diameter, respectively. 

The brass and steel rod and wires may be obtained at any iron- 
monger's, and the first tinman you come across will make the funnels for 
a few cents. We shall also require some good paste, and a few sheets of 
cartridge paper. 

The best thing to begin on is a cracker, which is about the simplest 
form of firework we have. 

Take a piece of cartridge paper 12 inches long by 31 inches wide, and 
lay it flat on the table. Fold down f of an inch along the whole length, 
then turn down, the double edge thus obtained i of an inch, and fold 
the single edge back upon it. If you now undo the fold you have made, 
you will find that you have formed a little channel in the paper i of an 
inch wide. In this lay mealpowder as evenly as you can from end to 
end ; reclose the channel, and continue to fold over until you get to the 
opposite side of the paper. Pass a paper-knife along the flat tube thus 
formed several times, and with your finger, just damp with the paste, 
touch the ecfge of the fold all the way along, and press it down. When 
the whole is perfectly dry fold it backwards and forwards into the form 
of a cracker — which is too familiar to every one to need description — 
tying it firmly in the middle with fine twine. The cracker is now so far 
finished, and only wants its free end to be wrapped up in touch paper to 
be complete. Touch paper is made by soaking common blue or pink 
paper in a pint of water, in which an ounce of nitre has been dissolved. 
When dry it should be cut into strips an inch wide. A small piece of 
this is just touched with paste, wrapped around the end of the cracker, 
the loose portion being twisted together to keep the powder from falling 
out. Of course you will see that there is sufficient powder In the mouth 
of the cracker before screwing up the end. 

Maroons are made by wrapping up a thimbleful of meal powder or 
corn powder in a piece of cartridge paper, and surrounding it lightly 
•with well- waxed fine twine, crossing and re-crossing until no more of the 



EYEET EOT HIS OVTS MAXUrACTUEEK. 105 

paper is visible. The more tightly the string is wrapped round the pa- 
per, the louder will be the explosion. As soon as the string is secured, 
a hole is made in the middle of tho maroon by a brass bradawl, a little 
piece of quickmatch inserted, and secured with a morsel of touchpaper 
and paste, a second piece of touchpaper being wrapped round the free 
end of the quickmatch. 

Quickmatch, it may be mentioned, is made by passing a strand of 
ordinary lamp-cotton through a thin paste made of gunpowder and water. 
When it is dry it is dusted with mealpowder. A quantity of it should 
always be kept on hand, as it will be very frequently used as we go ou. 
By uniting a series of say twenty-one maroons together by means of 
their quickmatches, a very effective salute may be fired by way of be- 
ginning a pyrotechnic display. 

The next simplest fireworks are lances, which are tubes of paper ^ of 
an inch in diameter, and 6 inches long, filled with a white or colored 
composition. They are used to form a number of devices, the descrip- 
tion of which we must leave for the present. 

The piece of brass rod i of an inch in diameter is technically termed 
a Jormer, and is used for making the cases of lances, squibs, serpents, 
gold and silver rains, and other small fireworks. If you wish to do 
things in a magnificent manner, you may make it ^ an inch in diameter j 
or if, on the contrary, you desire to be particularly economical, you can 
reduce it to i of an inch. The size given, however, is -a very good one 
for general purposes. 

Having reduced your paste to the consistency of a thick cream, with 
a little water, lay a piece ot cartridge paper, ti mches long by 3^ inches 
broad, on your pasting board. Fold down 1 inch of it, turn it over, and 
lay the former along the folded edge, and roh the whole up tightiy until 
about f of an inch is left. Cover this with as small a quantity of paste 
as possible, by means of a stiff hog tool, working as much as you can 
with the very tips of the hairs. Now roll on until the case is finished, 
continuing the operation with the small piece of smooth board already 
described, which must bo used just as a carpenter uses his plane. The 
object ot using this board is to bring the layers of the cases as close to- 
gether as possible, and to squeeze out all superOuous paste. You must 
of course take care never to roll backwards, as you will loosen the folds 
of the case iustcid of tightening them. When the case is nicely formed, 
slip it i of an inch ofi" tlio former, turn the open end inwards with the 
thumb-nail all round, and stamp the former on the board, so as to llatten 
the turned-in end securely. Slip off the finished case, and allow it to 
dry at least a couple of days; when perfectly dry, pour in sufficient fine- 
ly-powdered clay to fill the bottom to the depth of \ of an inch. This 
must be rammed down tightly by means of a second piece of brass rod, 
and a wooden mallet. Do not Ui^o your former for thia purpose, other- 



106 EVERY BOY HIS OWX MANUFACTUKER. 

"Wise you will turu up the end and spoil it. This hammer may -be made 
of wood, if necessary. The cases are now fit for filling, which is accom- 
plished with a little contrivance known as the wire and funnel. The 
tube of the larger funnel is inserted in the mouth of the case, and a 
piece of brass wire, i of an inch in diameter, passed through it. Suf- 
ficient composition to fill the cases is poured into the funnel, and the 
wire is worked up and down till the operation is completed. In most 
cases the composition should not be rammed down too tightly, otherwise 
it will burn irregularly. The ordinary weight of the hand, without ex- 
erting much extra strength, will be quite sufficient. 

The following compositions for lances have stood the test of long ex- 
perience, and will be found to answer their purpose admirably. 
No. 1. White. 

iTitre 16 parts. 

Sulphur 7 " 

Sulphide of Autimony 4 '* 

Red Lead 1 " 

No. 2. White. 

isTitre 16 parts. 

Sulphur 6 " 

Sulphide of Antimouy 3 " 

No. 3. Full Red. 

Chlorate of Potash 10 parts. 

Carbonate of Strontia 3 " 

Shellac 20 '' 

This is a very beautiful composition, but is hardly so brilliant as the 
following. It is of course less troublesome to make. 

No. 4. Full Red. 

Chlorate of Potash 9 parts. 

Nitrate of Strontia. 14 '' 

Nitre 4 " 

Sulphide of Copper 1 " 

Shellac 4 " 

This should only be made a day or two before use, and not rammed 
too hard into the case. The nitrate of strontia should be perfectly dry, 
or the color will be injured. 

No. 5. Rose. 

Chlorate of Potash 8 parts. 

Nitre 2 " 

Chalk 3 " 

Shellac 2 " 

A very delicate color, forming a lovely contrast with the following 
•when burnt side by side. 

No. 6. Geeen. 

Chlorate of Barvta 6 parts. 

Chloride of Lead 2 ♦' 

SheUac 1 " 



rVERY BOY HIS OTYX MAXrTACTTRER. 107 

This mixture is somewhat expensive, owing to the large amount of 
chlorate of baryta contained in it. It is of a most lively emerald green, 
and should be burnt simultaneously with the last named composition. 

No. 7- Greex. 1 

Chlorate of Potash 30 parts 

Nitrate of Baryta 45 " '* 

Shellac - 

Sulphur i " 

This is not so brilliant as the preceding, but when economy is desira- 
ble it may be used with advantage. 

No. 8. Blue. 

Chlorate of Potash 2G parts. 

Oxychloride of Copper t 12 " 

Chioride of Lead 2 " 

Nitrate of Lead 2 • • 

Shellac 4 • 

Sulphur 1 • 

This is a most lovely color, especially when used in conjunction with 
the following : 

No. 9. Yellow. 

Chlorate of Potash 24 parts. 

Nitrate of Barrta 8 •* 

Sulphur ' 3 " 

Resin 3 " 

Bicarbonate of Soda. 5 •'* 

No. 10. Oraxge. 

Oxalate of Soda. 3 parts. 

Chlorate of Barvta 2 " 

Shellac ' 1 ♦' 

No. 11. Lilac. 

Chlorate of Potash 24 parts. 

Sulphur 8 *•' 

Chalk 3 " 

Oxychloride of Copper 2 *• 

This forms a very lovely combination with Nos. G and 0. 

The above list gives a very fair idea of what may be done in colored 
fires with a comparatively few materials. When economy is necessary, 
Nos. 1, or 2, 3, 7, 8 and 9, will give a very good choice of color for the 
least outlay. 

The parts mentioned mean, in every instance, parts by iccight, and 
not by measure'. Any ordinary pair of scales will do for this purpose, 
but the weights should be troy ounces, drachms, and grains, as they arc 
the easiest to work with. 

In our next chapter we will give instructions for making Bengal Lights, 
S^iuibs, Serpents, Silver and Golden Ilains, Roman Candles, etc., with 
illustrations showing how to make the cases, stars, etc. 



108 EVERY BOY HIS OWX MANUFACTURER. 



CHAPTER II. 

Before commencing the second chapter of our article on Fireworks, it 
will be as well to remind our readers that the intimate mixing of the va- 
rious ingredients with each other is a matter of the greatest importance, 
for upon it depends entirely the success of any pyrotechnic display. It 
is performed by throwing the materials to be mixed into a paper or card 
tray, and stirring them together with a little cardboard shovel. This 
operation should take ten minutes at least, according to the amount of 
composition you are working with, otherwise a proper mixture cannot 
be made. No composition should ever be put into a case until it is tested. 
This is done by laying an even train of it along a piece of waste board, 
and firing one end. If it burns evenly the mixing is properly performed ; 
if, on the contrary, it splutters here and there, or goes out in the middle, 
it must be worked at with a little more patience. Kecollect, once for all, 
that good materials are one half of the battle ; thorough mixing is the 
other half. The proportions given in any of these receipts may be halved 
or quartered if necessary. The drachm troy is a good standard to take, 
but five cent pieces or pennies answer the same purpose. 

Bengal lights are the next simple firework that we shall describe. 
They maybe made by filling one-ounce pill-boxes with brilliant or colored 
compositions, and closing the case by pasting touch paper round the 
opening, and twisting it together. 

The following compositions are better adapted for Bengal lights than 
those given for lances. In the Bengal light it must be remembered that 
a large surface of the composition is burning in contact with the air 
instead of a small one. The materials used are consequently burned 
under slightly dissimilar conditions. 

White Bengal lights may be made from composition Nos. 1 or 2. 



No. 12. Ceimson. 

Mtrate of Strontia 29 parts. 

Sulphur 13 " 

Chloride of Lead 2 '' 

Sulphide of Copper 10 " 

Shellac 1 " 

Chlorate of Potash 12 " 

The remarks appended to No. 4 will apply equally to this composition. 
No. 5 may be used if a rose-colored fire is desired, but it is better to in- 
crease the proportion of chlorate of potash to 9 parts. 

No. 13. Gree:n^. 

Kitrate of Baryta .'.27 parts. 

Sulphur 8 '' 

Shellac 2 " 

Chloride of Lead 2 " 

Chlorate of Potash 9 •' 



EVEBY BOY HIS OVTS MAXTTACTUEEE. 109 

No. 6 may also be used, but is rather expensive. 

Ko. 14. Yellotv. 

Xitrate of Barvta 24 parts. 

Sulphur .' « '' 

Bicarbonate of Soda 4 " 

Kesin 2 '' 

Chalk 1 '• 

Chlorate of Potash 12 '^ 

No. 15. Orange. 

Xitrate of Strontia 90 parts. 

Sulphur * *25 " 

Lampblack 5 '•' 

Oxalate of Soda G " 

Chlorate of Potash 16 " 

No. IG. Blue. 

Nitrate of Baryta 20 parts. 

Sulphur o3 '* 

Oxvchloride of Copper 18 

Sulphate of Potash 17 " 

Chloride of Lead 2 •' 

Chlorate of Potash 2 " 

♦ 
A row of Bengal lights of different colors, connected by a quick match, 
forms a capital beginning to a display of fireworks. 

Squibs and serpents may be made in cases similar to those used I'or 
lances, but the number of turns in making the case should be increased 
to six or seven. They are made of various sizes, according to circum- 
stances ; half an inch in diameter by six inches in length is a very good 
ordinary size. Tamp the ends with clay as directed for lances, or choke 
them; tie tightly with twine and dip the ends into melted resin. The 
operation of choking is performed in the following manner : 

Take a piece of stick slightly smaller than your former, and of about 
the same length, and round off the end of it. Take another piece of about 
the same length, and treat it in the same manner. Bore a hole in the 
latter, and insert tightly a piece of copper wire about one-eighth of an 
inch thick, leaving about half an inch projecting. Bore a corresponding 
hole in the first piece for the admission of the wire, and the apparatus is 
complete. 

The choke-former is shown in section, in fig. 1, with a case on it, ready 
for choking. Take a piece of whipcord a couple of yards long, and fasten 
one end to a post or nail in a wall, and the other round your waist. Twist 
it once round the case at the junction of the two halves of the choke- 
former, and by gradually working the case round and round on its axis, 
you will be able to form a neat choke in a few minutes. ^Yith(lraw the 
choke-former, and you will have what may be termed an '' open choke." 
By continuing the operation vou will entirely close the aperture left bv 



110 EVERT BOY HIS OTr>- MAyUFACTrRER. 

the wire of the former, and obtain wliat may be called a *^ close choke.^ 
This is shown in fig. 3, fig. 2 showing the '*' open choke."' Tie a piece of 
twine around the choke, making several turns, and dip the end into 
melted resin. Case-choking is a very simple operation, and takes about 
a tenth part of the time to perform that it does to describe. 

Having closed your case either by close-choking or tamping, pour in an 
inch of corn-powder by means of the funnel and wire, and ram down 
tightly. Insert the wired half of the choke-former in the case, pressing 
the wire down into the powder to form ah open choke, as before directed: 
tie neatly, and withdraw the former. Pour in a pinch or two of meal- 
powder and ram down tightly, after which fill up with squib composition 
to within half an inch of the top, where an open choke is made and tied. 
The remainder is filled with squib composition, and capped in the usual 
manner. The open choke over the powder is to increase the noise of the 
explosion, the one near the mouth is to increase the motive power of the 
squib when thrown into the air. Squibs are often made without choking 
at all, but they are much inferior to those described. The choke near 
the mouth must not be less than i of an inch in diameter, or else the case 
is apt to burst from the force of the burning composition. This defect 
can only be discovered by experiment. If the hole in the choke prove 
too small, it can easily be made larger by untying it and enlarging the 
aperture with a pointed stick. There is much confusion about the 
names "squibs" and "serpents," either word being applied by different 
authors and makers to the firework just described. The true serpent is 
made in the following manner : Close-choke your case, and tamp with 
i of an inch of clay; to make assurance doubly sure, ram with squib 
composition until within li inches of the end ; open-choke, ram in an 
inch of corn-powder and close-choke. It will be seen that this process 
is the reverse of the former, as we begin filling at the mouth instead of 
at the bottom of the case. When complete, bore a hole 1 of an inch in 
diameter, with a brass bradawl i an inch below the tamp ; insert a piece 
of quick match and cap as usual. The hole from which the fire issues 
in this instance being at the side, the firework will perform a series of 
serpentine gyrations when thrown into the air. Sometimes the corn- 
powder is placed in the middle, the two ends being filled with composi- 
tion, and bored at opposite sides. Fig. 4 represents the section of a squib ; 
fig. 5, that of a serpent. The double-ended serpent need not be shown. 
When serpents arc used in the heads of rockets, they are frequently made 
without the charge of corn-powder. 

The following compositions may be used indifferently for squibs or 
serpents. They are all good in their way, but it is just as well to fill a 
case with each, and burn them together for comparison's sake. 



EVEEY BOY HIS OWX MAJTCFACTUREK. Ill 

Nos. 1, 2, 3, AND 4. 

Meal-powdsr. 4 10 32 18 parts. 

Steel Filinss 1 1 f) '*' 

Charcoal..^ 1 " 

i^hre 1 1 " 

Sulphur 1 1 1- " 

Cast Iron Filings 5 " 

Nos. 3. and 4 serve well for pin-vrheels. 

Golden and Silver rains are made by tamping cases similar to those 
used for lances, and filling with one of the following compositions. The 
mouths are closed with meal-powder made into a paste with spirits of 
wine. They should not be driven very tightly. They may be stuck up- 
right in the ground, or in a piece of clay placed on a post, or thrown into 
the air. In the latter case they should not be made too long. Except 
when used on the heads of rockets, they are what a Yankee would call 
"a kinder one-hoss sort of firework." 

Golden IIaix CoMrosixiox. 
Nos. 1 , 2, AND 3. 

Meal-powder G 8 5 parts. 

Nitre 1 1 ♦•' - 

Tine Charcoal 2 3 1 « 

SiLVEi: IIaix Comi'Ositiox. 

Nos. 1 AXD 2. 

Meal-powder 10 16 parts. 

Nitre 13 1 " 

Sulphur 2 1 '' 

Zinc Filings 20 " 

Steel Filings 5 " 

We now come to the lloman candle, a species of firework that will tax 
the young pyrotechnist's skill and care to the utmost. The Koman candle 
consists of a long, strong case rammed with brilliant fire and stars, with 
small charges of corn-powder beneath them, being inserted at intervals. 
The case may be regarded in some sort as a gun, or mortar, from which 
luminous stars are fired instead of shot ; it must, therefore, be made of 
great strength in order to withstand the power of the explosion. They 
are made of all sizes; and their calibre, like rockets, is measured by the 
size of the leaden ball they will contain. Thus, a 2-ounce Roman candle 
does not mean one that will contain 2 ounces of composition, but one of 
the same diameter as a leaden ball of that weight. The 2-ounco size is 
the one that wo should recommend as being the most manageable. It is 
made on a former IH inches long and 5 ofan inch in diameter. 

Take a sheet of imperial two-sheet pasteboard and cut it into six pieces 
as shown in fig. (3. Each piece will measure about 14 inches by 7 inches, 
imperial pasteboard being about 28 inches by 21 inches. Next cut a 
sheet of imperial 70 lb. brown paper into 2 pieces, as shown in fig. 7, 



112 ETEEY BOY HIS OWX MAXUFACTrREE. 

each of which will measure about 14 iuchcs by 21 inches. Take one of 
the pieces of pasteboard and roll it round the former, taking care to 
moisten it thoroughly with paste. Having worked it well with the rolling- 
board, undo about an inch and insert the edge of the strip of brown paper 
which you have previously covered with paste ; roll it up tightly, using 
the rolling board to squeeze out as much of the superfluous moisture as 
possible. You must use your judgment as to the amount of paste neces- 
sary for making a good case. If you are too generous you will make your 
pasteboard and paper too damp, and the case will most likely twist in 
drying ; if, on the other hand, you use too little, it will not be strong 
enough to withstand the force of the powder. Of course the first round 
of pasteboard must not be pasted, otherwise it will stick to the former. 
Slip the case carefully off the former, and place it aside to dry. This will 
take three or four days in summer, and a week in winter. You may, if 
you like, place the cases near the fire, but not too near, otherwise they 
will warp. When quite dry, cut them into lengths 14 (inches long, and 
ram the ends with half an inch of clay, taking care to beat each ladleful 
down firmly, with ten or fifteen blows of a mallet. 

Having made a stock of cases, you must next set to work to mix the 
composition and make the stars. There are a large number of composi- 
tions recommended by different authors, but the two following will be 
found to answer their purpose admirably. 

NOS. 1 AXD 2. j 

Afeal-powder .....-,. 4 20 parts. 

yitre 8 5 '• 

Charcoal.. 3 4 " 

Sulphur 3 7 " 

In No. 2 the charcoal may be replaced by steel filings, which, of course, 
will increase the brilliancy of the fire. 

The stars for Roman candles are made by slightly moistening one of 
the following compositions with ordinary shellac varnish, and pressing it 
into a mould as shown in fig. 8. A is a wooden former, i an inch in di- 
ameter, into the end of which is inserted a piece of copper wire i of an 
inch thick, and projecting t of an inch. B is a ^brass tube, \ an inch in 
diameter inside. The tube is placed firmly on a flat surface, the damp 
composition thrown into it, and the former A inserted with all the pres- 
sure you can exert. The object of the projecting wire is to limit the size 
of the star to i an inch in thickness, as well as to pierce a hole in its 
centre. Having compressed your stars, lift up the whole and push out 
the composition with the former. Your star will now resemble a little 
millstone I of an inch thick, i an inch in diameter, and with a hole in its 
centre of i of an inch. T\'hen perfectly dry, insert in the hole a piece of 
quick match, leaving t-^. 'jcd on each side, which you turn down on tiie 
star, C. 



ETEPvY BOY HIS OWX MANUFACTURER. 113 

The followiug compositions are selected from amongst a large number. 

Nos. 1 AND 2. White. 

i^itrc 8 3 parts. 

Charcoal 1 1 '• 

Sulphur :i 1 " 

Sulphide of Antimony 2 " 

Sulphide of Tin 1 " 

No. 3. Green. 

Chlorate of Potash 2 parta. 

Nitrate of Baryta 1 " 

Sugar 1 '•' 

Chloride of Lead 1 '' 

No. 4. Blue. 

Chlorate of Potash 48 parts. 

Sulphur 21 •• 

Osychloride (►f Copper 21 '*' 

Chloride of Lead 4 " 

Shellac 1 " 

No. 5. Yellow. 

Chlorate of Potash 4 parts. 

Nitre 2 

Sulphur • 2 

Bicarbonate of Soda 2 '•' 

Sugar 1 " 

For red and crimson stars, the composition recommended for lances 
Avill serve excellently. 

You must take great care to allow the stars sufficient time to dry before 
using them. It is as well to insert the quick match in the star the last 
thing, as the open hole materially assists the drying. In order to distin- 
guish between the stars, it is a good plan to fasten to them with a toucli 
of gum a tiny morsel of colored paper. 

Everything being- ready, pour into the case enough composition to oc- 
cupy i an inch, and ram it down with ten smart blows of a mallet ; then 
ram down another i inch in the same manner. The first charge of pow- 
der, 00 grains, must now be poured in and rammed down. Uuou it is 
l)Iace a piece of touchpaper h an inch square, and lastly, the lirst star. 
Next, throw in a square of touchpaper, and ram two separate ^ inches of 
composition with ten blows of the mallet to each. It is better to divide 
the inch of composition into two than to ram it all at once. On the top 
ram in the second charge of powder, 20 grains ; and then the second | 
star, until the case will hold no more, of course finishing with a charge 
of composition. The charges of ])owder diminish as they get nearer the 
mouth of the case, in the following order:— 1st, GO grains; 12d, 20 
grains; 3d, 15 grains; 4th and 5th, 12 grains; Gth and 7th, 10 grains; 
8th, 8 grains. No pains should be spared on the exact adjustment of 
these charges of powder, for on their proper relative proportion will dci)cnd 
thebcauty of the display of stars. The filling being completed, the mouth 



114 



EVEUT BOY ins OW^ MAXCFACTUREIl. 



of the case is primed and capped with touchpaper in the usual way. If 
the cases are made pretty thick they will serve over again. 






FiQ. L 



m m w f^-F m -. 'ir f T^rJ 



Pig. 2. 



Kg, 3. 



rai, ^ 



K!..A« 



5a:i__^ 



Fig. 6. 



30 



bQ 



Fig. 7. 



30 



B ^ 



4^ J 

Fig. & 



Fig. 1 is a firework-case slipped on two formers with rounded ends, 
which are joined together by a short wire. 

Pig. 2 is a firework- case half choked at the bottom. 

Fig. 3 is the same, completely choked. 

Fig. 4 is precisely similar to Fig. 5, but the toj:^ is ordy half cho'ked. 

Fig. 5 is a squib completely choked at the bottom, half choked in the 
middle; and completely choked at the top. The lower part is filled with 
gunpowder, the upper with composition j a tail of touchpaper being in- 
serted in the side. 

Figs. 6 and 7 show the method of cutting the paper and pasteboard ^i,J 
Fig. 8. B is a brass tube, and A is a wooden former that fits into It. 
A is half an inch shorter than B, and is provided with a wire at the end 
lialf an inch long. It is used for moulding stars, which, when made, are 
like little cheeses with a hole through them. In C a piece of touchpaper, 
which has been passed through the star and turned over top and bottom, 
is shown. 



EVEPvY BOY HIS OWX MAXUFACTURER. 



AQUARIUMS. 



They are exceedingly ornamental and interesting features of homes ; 
and there is an opportunity for almost unlimited study in connection with 
them. We give herewith, illustrations of recent styles which are ap- 
proved, and which may suggest something hetter to those interested. 
A recent article in the Scottish Farmer says the aquarium should he of 
rectangular shape, as then the objects within it arc not liable to appear 
distorted to the eye through unequal refraction ; this form also admits of 
their better construction, it being less liable to accidental fracture, and 
also enabling us to use glass of such even strength and thickness as will 
best sustain the weight of water within. The size is unimportant. It 
may be square, six-sided or eight-sided. Fig. 1 represents a hexagonal 

or six-headed one. They arc made 
^^ IG by 9 inches, 18 by 10 inches, 20 
by 11 inches, and 24 by 12 inches ; 
the height and depth being alike, 
with frames of bronze, or gilt, or 
silver plate. Some persons have a 
cover of plate glass I'aised about 
•one inch from the upper edge, to 
^keep out the dust and to prevent 
^^^ the fish from jumping out, which 

Fig. 1.— Rustic Hexagonal Aquarium. they will SOmctlmcS do in their 

play; but we think a fine wire gauze on the top (see Fig. 2) is prefer- 
able, as it gives more air. It may bo laid either flat or as in the engrav- 
ing. A cover of cither sort is indispensable if cats have access to tho 
room in which it is kept. It is also necessary to have a piece of muslin 
the size of one side of the aquarium, to hang on tho outside of it, be- 
tween it and tho window, to protect it from tho direct rays of the sun, 
which are very injurious to the fish, frequently destroying tiiem. 

Having procured the aquarium, the next thing to do is to procure 
somo rather coarse sand (such as building sand) ; this must bo v.'cll 
washed with clean water, to free it from clay or other impurities. About 
two inches in depth of tho sand so cleansed is to be laid on tho bottom 
of the a(iuarium ; on this jjlace a layer of fine, well-washed smooth p(!b- 
bles. It is al.jo desirable to build up a small piece of rock-work in the 
centre or at cither end, made of material from tho bottom of some 
running brook, taking care in building it to leave open spaces or passages 
between the stones, which not only give a picturcscpio, grotto-liko ap- 
j)earance, but also affords dark nooks in which the fish delight to hide. 
If a pipe for a fountain can bo attached, so much tho better. Tiion fill 




116 



EVERY :]0r HIS O^VX MANUFACTUEER. 




up' your aquarium to within two or tlireo inches of the top, with clear 
river or rain water, and it is ready to be stocked. 

Plants can be obtained from any fresh water brook, but it is not desir- 
able to have large leaved or coarse growing species. The most suitable 
are those which grow wholly immersed in the water, as they give out 

large quantities of oxygen to tho 



water, while plants with large 
floating leaves, like water lilies, 
do not. The most common or 
readily obtained, as well as the 
most desirable, are the different 
species of Callitrichc, or water 
starwort, and Fotamogcton, or 
pond weed; the ZannicheUia pa- 
justris, or horned water weed ; 
Hottonia mflata^ or water violet; 

Fig. --Aquarium ^vith Gauze Top. ^ ^^^.^ CUriouS plant ; LepIanthuS 

gramineus, or water star grass ; the different species of 3IyriopliyUiim, 
or water millfoil ; Isoetes, or quillwort ; and Nasturtium officinale, or 
water cress. To these may be added the Lemna, or duckweed, which 
makes a very pretty addition to the aquarium, floating on the surface of 
the water. 

In gathering these plants, pro- 
vide yourself with a can or pail 
filled with water; remove them 
with a ball of earth or mud to 
their roots if possible, placing 
them in the pail of water for 
transportation, and then plant 
them with the ball of earth at- 
tached, in the sand, laying some 
pebbles or small stones upon their 
roots, to keep them in place. 

After the plants have been in- 
troduced, the aquarium should be 
placed in a well lighted position 
for a we.ek or ten days, to give 
the plants an opportunity to es-l 
tablish themselves, before putting 
in the fish. Care must be takenl 
to remove every dead leaf, stem, ^'^' 3.— Aqnadum -tvith Grotto and ronatain. 

or other decaying vegetable matter. A sure sign of the plants being 
in a healthy condition is to see the sides of the tank and the rock-work 
covered with clusters of air-bubbles when exposed to the sunlight. 




ETEKT EOT HIS OWX lIAXCFACTUlUiR. 117 

GLASS-BLOWIXG FOE BOYS. 

Any of our readers fond of clieniicid and i»hilosophical experiments, 
will find it a great advantage to be able to make the apparatus that is 
required to can-y on their researclies. A slight knowledge of carpentry 
will enable them to manufacture stands for their test tubes, boxes to 
contain chemicals, and such like articles ; but for the rest of their re- 
quirements, the art of glass-blowing niust be cultivated. By the aid of 
a little inexpensive apparatus, combined with a stock of materials in the 
shape of tubes, rods, and plates of glass, of various sizes and thicknesses, 
a great many serviceable articles can be manufactured ; and though at 
first some difficulties may be encountered, and the results of the tyro's 
handiwork may be far inferior to similar articles purchased from the 
trade, these drawbacks will speedily be diminished as practice makes 
perfect, and those defects in workmanship which always occur during 
the earlier stages of apprenticeship will gradually yield to increasing 
skill in the workman. The first thing required is a lamp. Of this sev- 
eral patterns are made, some to burn oil and others spirit, while that 
very commonly used in the tra'de when gas cannot be liad is constructed 
for burning tallow. The last is perhaps on the whole the best, as it af- 
fords a powerful and large flame, very necessary when a bulb is to bo 
blown, or a tube of an inch diameter of thick, hard glass is required to 
be bent. This lamp is of the form shown in fig. J. A is the body of the 
lamp of strong tin-plate ; 13 the cover, hinged across the middle ; C a 
smaller cover, used when the lamp is supplied with oil instead of tallow. 
The part between D and F forms the wicll-holdcr; it is an open space to 
which, however, a flat piece of tin, notched at one end, D, shown separ- 
ately at H, forms a cover. The latter merely rests on a small ledge 
near the top of the wick-holder. By sliding this piece to the left the 
wick becomes more exposed and the flame larger. The cotton forming 
the wick lies in a kind of sloping channel of tin, L, which/csts in an in- 
clined position, as seen in H, where its situation is shown by the dotted 
lines. E is a cap or hood, a front view of which is shown at M. It has 
two arched openings opposite to each other, and when it is brought down 
upon the flame the blast of air ft made to enter at one of these, and the 
flame is thus driven out of the other, and assumes a somewhat pointed 
form without any smoke, and of intense heat. The direction of tho 
blast should be towards tho broad part of tlie lamp, as tho pillow is thus 
kept in a melted state. Tho hood is sui)portcd by arms of tin, pivoted 
.to tho sides of tho lamp, and tho arched wire keeps it raised to any do- 
Isired height. It is always necessary, when the above lamp is used with 
'tallow, to trim and readjust tho wick immediately after tho required op- 
eration is at an end, otherwise when the lamp has become cold and tho 



118 ETEIIT BOY HIS 0"\VX MAXUFACTURER. 

tallovT cong-ealecl into a solid form, it will not bo possible to draw for- 
ward the wick without placing the whole before a fire. In using this 
lamp, care should be taken to trim the wick with sharp scissors, so that 
it may forn3 a compact mass as large or larger than the middle finger of 
■the hand. The part projecting above the tallow should be an inch long, 
and this should be divided into two equal parts, so that a kind of chan- 
nel througli the wick may be formed to receive the full strength of the 
blast. If the nozzle of the blow-pipe be removed further from the cap, 
the flame will be less acute, and will form a broad, red sheet of fire, 
rounded at the head and roaring like a small furnace. By advancing the 
blow-pipe close to the cap, the llame will become long and finely pointed. 
■A few ti'ials will teach the operator more than a whole page of letter- 
press, and the best position of the blow-pipe nozzle and of the cap 
(which keeps down the smoke and prevents, injury to the eyes) will be 
readily found by experiment. The ordinary niiouth blow-pipe, fig. 2, will 
generally be iusufticient for glass-blowing, although very useful in chemi- 
cal operations, or for soldering small articles oi jewelry, and for'many 
processes requiring a comparatively light blast of air directed through 
the flame of a candle or small lamp. There are several kinds of blowing 
apparatus so constructed as to leave both hands at liberty, and to re- 
quire but slight exertion on the part of the operator. The first to be 
described is Tilley's hydraulic blow-pipe, in which a column of water, 
raised by the action of the breath, is made to drive out a steady blast of 
air by its gradual return to its original level tlu'ough the action of grav- 
ity. This is sufficient for many small works in glass, and is generally 
used as an accessory to the laboratory. An occasional blast from the 
lungs will keep up the current of air, whereas the mouth blow-pipe re- 
quires to be constantly in the lips, and the human bellows have to be 
incessantly exerted — a great evil if the chest is delicate. 

A, B, C, D, fig. 3, is a tin vessel about IS inches high, 9 inches wide, 
and 4 inches deep, with a cover at D. In the drawing the internal ar- 
rangements are shown as if the whole were of glass, so that the construc- 
tion may be clearly understood. E is a partition, soldered so as to be air 
and water tight, to the top and sides of the vessel, but not quite reach- 
ing to the bottom. The top part of the case, as far as the hinge, is also 
air-tight, but into this are soldered t\fo tubes — one about two inches 
long, the other reaching nearly to the bottom of the case and project- 
ing nearly two inches above it. Across the lower end of the long tube 
is loosely tied a piece of silk, which, when pressed close to the bottom 
of the tube by the action of the water, forms an air-tight valve opening 
downwards. On the upper end of the same tube is attached, outside the 
case, about a foot of flexible tubing ending in an ivory or wooden mouth- 
piece, A piece of brass pipe, of a size to fit tightly inside the second 
short tube, is bent to a risht ande, and into one end is screwed a blow- 



KVEBY EOT HIS O'VV^' JklAXTTACTUEEB. 



119 




120 EVERY BOY HIS OVTS MA2sUFACTUEEE. 

pipe Dozzlc. Of the latter it is well to have two or three pierced with 
(lififerent sized holes-. This part draws like the tube of a telescope in the 
outer tube, and can be also turned in any direction, according to the po- 
sition of the lamp. At M this part of the apparatus is shown, with the 
several pieces composing it viewed separately. A, the nozzle; B, the 
bent tube into which it is screwed; C, the short pipe through which B 
passes stiffly, so as to form an air-tight but moveable junction; D, the 
level of the top of the case, into which C is soldered. 

This apparatus is used as follows : The case is rather more than half 
filled with water by the cover D. Part of the liquid will pass below the 
partition, and both sides of the case will be equally filled, the water 
standing in each at the same level. Air is now blown by the lungs into 
the flexible tube, which air, bubbling up through the water, will accu- 
mulate above it, and drive the liquid back into the left side of the case, 
where it will rise to a much higher level. The silk valve at H will pre- 
vent the water from being driven by the pressure of the air back to the 
mouth of the operator. In a few seconds the right hand side of the in- 
strument will be full of air, and the left side full of water. The blast 
from the lungs may then cease for a time, and the pressure of the water 
as it sinks down in the left-hand chamber to recover its former level, 
will drive out the air through the blow-pipe in a steady, uninterrupted 
stream. An occasional blast from the lungs will suffice to keep up the 
action of the instrument, which, on the whole, is not only an ingenious, 
but likewise a really effective apparatus. The power of the above is not, 
however, quite sufficient for all purposes of glass-blowing, for if a con- 
siderable length of tube is to be operated upon, say two inches or so, as 
in blowing a large bulb, the nozzle must be large, and the exertion con- 
sequently greater, to keep up the necessary supply of air, added to which 
the fall of so short a column of water is insufficient to produce the strong 
blast then needed. Tilley's blow-pipe must in such cases yield to one of 
the many forms of glass-blowers' table, in which the blast is supplied by 
bellows, either double or single. In the latter case an elastic reservoir 
for air must be added, such as a bladder or bag. In fig. 4 we give a blow- 
pipe table, specially designed to suit our readers' pockets, or within the 
power of their own proable skill in carpentry. As double bellows alone 
cost at least five dollars, exclusive of the requisite table and fittings, wc 
have brought into use the ordinary house bellows, and so arranged the 
whole apparatus that these may be removed at pleasure and refitted in a 
few minutes in case they should be required elsewhere. In fig. 4 the bel- 
lows are seen at A, lying upon the floor, but slightly raised by a bar of 
wood at G, in order to allow the air free access to the valve underneath. 
To the nozzle is attached an india-rubber tube, which should fit tightly 
and be further secured by tying. B is a square box like an organ pipe, 
shown again at K ; at the top, bottom, and on one side is attached a 



EVERY EOY ETS OWX MAXTPACTUPwEE. 



]21 




122 EVEET BOY HIS OWX MANUrACTUEEE. 

round tube of wood. Just above the lower one is a leathern valve, which 
at every puff from the bellows opens upwards, allowing the wind to pass 
but not to return. The side pipe is attached to the neck of a large 
bladder, which thus forms the reservoir of wind. A weight resting on 
the bladder (not shown in the drawing) drives out the air through the 
upper tube, where it is attached to an elastic pipe leading to the nozzle 
of the blow-pipe. The best way tp weight the bladder is to lay over it a 
piece of canvas netting or cloth, and to attach a weight to both ends of the 
latter. This will keep up a uniform pressure equally distributed over the 
whole surface of the bladder, and the blast will prove very regular and 
constant. This apparatus constitutes, in fact, a double bellows at a small 
cost. The nozzle of the blow-pipe should consist of two tubes, one 
within the other, as already described in treating of the blow-pipe of 
Tilley. The inner tube may be of hard glass, which can be refitted 
easily if broken, and the actual nozzle enlarged or diminished in aper- 
ture to suit the work in hand. Between the handles of the bellows is a 
chair spring, w^hich may be bought at the upholsterer's, and which serves 
to keep the bellows open until pressed down by the foot of the operator. 
There are other forms of blowing apparatus, but none so easily or so 
cheaply made as the above. If an air-cushion of rubber cloth be used 
instead of the bladder, a very durable apparatus will be made, but the 
bladder will answer almost as well. 

The tools required for ordinary glass work are few and simple. A 
conical-shaped piece of metal for spreading tubes, so as to open them 
wider, a pair of pincers to compress and flatten, and a three-cornered 
file to cut off tubes, are the chief requisites. If the top of the table is not 
covered with zinc or tin, a sheet of thick metal, smooth on the upper 
surface, should also be at hand. The above are shown at A, B, C, D, 
fig- 5. 

The first operation to be learnt in glass-work is the bending of tubes. 
The latter, it may be stated, should be purchased by the pound from any 
philosophical instrument maker or operative chemist. The tubing is of 
two kinds, one of which, having lead in its composition, is very soft and 
easily worked ; the other is much harder, generally called infusible, and 
this is in many cases by far the best to use. For making test-tubes and 
blow-pipe nozzles and apparatus required in analytical chemistry, it is 
indispensable, and is but little dearer than the other. One pound of 
assorted sizes should be bought to commence with. The thick tubes 
are the easiest to bend in a proper manner, and for this operation a large 
flame, such as is afforded by a spirit-lamp, used without any blast, is 
sufficient ; but the object will not be effected so quickly. Fig. 6 : A 
represents an evenly-bent tube -, B represents the form most likely to be 
given to the same by a novice. In the latter, the upper side of the bend 
is flattened; and the under side displays wrinkles or puckers, at which 



EVERT BOY HIS OWS ^lANUFACTUEER. 122 

points a very slight jar will break the glass. The cause of this is first 
that the heat is coufined to too small a spot, and is probably of too high 
a temperature, causing the bend to be too sudden. It is very difiQcult to 
avoid this defect when a very thin tube is operated upon. The proper 
method is first to have a large flame, and if the bellows seem necessary, 
the jet must not be placed very close to the lamp. By this means a large 
volume of flame will be produced. The glass must first be held at a little 
distance from the lamp, and must be twirled about in the fingers until 
the part that is to be bent is gradually heated. It may then be brought 
nearer, and an inch or two in length fairly and evenly heated, being 
twirled the whole time in the hands until it begins to bend by its own 
weight. This bending must rather, be retarded than hastened. If the 
work is hurried the tube will either break off or will assume the form 
of B, fig. G. When the desired object has been effected the glass is to 
be withdrawn from the flame as gradually as it was made to approach 
it, holding it for a few seconds at a little distance, but within tho 
influence of the heated air, so as to anneal it. It will then become as 
strong at the bend as elsewhere ; but it should not bo laid on a cold 
surface of metal, nor exposed while hot 4o wet, or it will break. Tho 
bent tube may bo made into a spare blow-pipe or blow-pipe nozzlo 
if the two ends are three inches in length. For this purpose a point 
about one inch or an inch and a half from one end is gradually brought to 
the blow-pipe flame, which need not be large, and being turned round 
continually will soon become soft. The tube is then to bo gently pulled 
as if to stretch it lengthwise, when it will assume the form of fig. 7, and 
if this is continued it will at last draw out to a fine thread, and may be 
broken off (fig. 7, B). The ends of each piece will be found to be closed, 
and a file must be applied gently to cut off the extreme point. The tube 
will thus be seen to end in an aperture the size of a pin, and the file 
having been very cautiously applied to make tho extremity smooth, an 
excellent blow-pipe jet will have been made. It is, however, better to 
Iieat this minute point for a second to a red heat in the flame of tho lamp, 
to render the extreme point smooth ; but unless tho tube is removed tho 
instant it becomes faintly red hot it will bo reclosed, and must be filed 
oft' again. 

Next proceed to make a test-tube of the form of fig. 8. Select for this 
purpose a piece of thin hard tubing of tho size required — say half an inch 
diameter and seven or eight inches long, which will suflice for ttvo test- 
tubes—and these will bo made at tho same operation. Proceed as before 
to soften a spot in tho centre of the tube; but, as tho latter is thin you 
must work very cautiously, or you will melt Iho part heated into a hole. 
Keep, therefore, incessantly twirling tho work round and round until on 
pulling it you find tho glass yielding cvenbj on all sides, and not more in 
one place than in another. It is not necessary to heat more than an 



124 EVERY BOY HIS OWN MAl^^UFACTURER. 

inch of the tube, as you waut it, •when pulled out, to assume the form of 
A, fig. 9; rather than B ; "whereas the latter would be the best if you 
were making a blow-pipe. You must try also to get the bottom of both 
as round as possible before entirely separating the two parts ; hence you 
must take care not to melt off the thin fibre of glass too quickly. When 
indeed, at last, this fibre is destroyed, you ought to have two perfect test- 
tubes. This, however, you will hardly succeed in accomplishing in your 
early essays, as it requires practice. Suppose the tubes separated, there- 
fore, and one or both to be somewhat ill-shaped, you must heat the ex- 
tremity, and gently — very gently — blow into the other end of the tube, 
and you will see the bottom swell out into a nicely-rounded form. Hav- 
ing accomplished this, heat the open end, and with the conical-shaped 
tool turn over a neat rim all round. This may be done by means of the 
end of any round wire, as large as a pencil, as easily as with [the proper 
tool ; but you must acquire the knack of rolling the tube quickly between 
the finger and thumb, while the instrument is held in a slanting position 
against the inside (fig. 10). After finishing the top and bottom as 
directed, it is a good plan to heat the tube again, but not sufficiently to 
soften it, and lay it on the hob to cool very slowly. This will anneal it 
perfectly, and it will bear to have boiling water poured into it without 
risk of fracture. All glass vessels that are required to stand heat safely 
are annealed in a similar way, being exposed in annealing ovens to the 
requisite temperature, and very slowly cooled. 

The next operation to be learned is blowing a bulb, so as to make such 
articles as small retorts or flasks (A, B, fig. 11). This will not be at- 
tempted on a large scale, as it is difficult to accomplish on large tubing, 
and requires a powerful blast and a double or treble nozzle to the blow- 
pipe. Bulbs, however, of one inch in diameter may be attempted with 
certainty of success after a few trials, and perhaps afterwards it may be 
advisable to extend the operation to tubes of larger size. The first at- 
tempt should be on a thick tube of small internal diameter (C, fig. 11). 
Seal up the end as before by drawing it out to a i)oint. If it is necessary 
to work so near the end for this purpose that it cannot be held as before 
by the hands, any odd piece of tubing must be taken up, and the end of 
both it and the tube to be worked heated red hot and applied together. 
They will at once unite, especially if both are turned about in the flame, 
and the pieces pressed and kneaded together. The added piece thus 
answers as a handle by which to take hold in order to stretch the tube 
when the latter is heated at the part required to form a closed cud. Hav- 
ing separated the parts, take that which is to have the bulb formed upon 
it, heat the end, so as to reduce the pointed portion, to which end it may 
be pressed down while hot upon the metal slab, or on a slate or any similar 
article. Then proceed to heat it again ; let the lamp be removed a short 
distance from the blow-pipe, and the wick spread a little, so that a broad 



EVERY BOY niS 0^'X MAXUFACTUIIER. 125 

large body of flame may be produced. A portion of at least one inch must 
be exposed to the heat, and uniformly brought to a condition of melting, 
known by the color assumed, which will be jja/cred, approaching white. 
Quickly remove the tube, and blow into the open end, twirling it in the 
fingers at the same time, and a bulb will be formed immediately. Some 
precautions must, however, be taken to insure a satisfactory result. 
First, the tube must be thoroughly and uniformly heated, which can 
only be effected by constantly turning it in the flame; secondly, tho 
breath must not be sent forth violently or suddenly, or an immense bulb 
will result, so thin as instantly to fall to pieces in flakes. The air from 
the lungs must therefore be steadily, though strongly emitted. Thirdly, 
if a flask like A is to be made, the tube must be twirled while in the 
mould, otherwise the bulb will fall to one side, and a retort, B, will result. 
The whole operation requires speed without haste. Only one other 
operation will be described, namely, the method of joining tubes cither 
lengthwise or at any required angle to each other. In fig. 32, A repre- 
sents two pieces of glass of equal diameter. They may be at once joined 
end to end ; but by far the best way is to heat one piece, and with tho 
conical tool A, fig. 5, spread it open. Insert the piece to which it is to 
bo joined and bring both gradually into the flame, twirling them round 
constantly nntil the junction is perfect. If a ridge remains, gently pull 
the pieces lengthwise when moderately heated (not red), and the joint 
will be almost invisible. B shows the method of uniting a piece of largo 
tube to a smaller one, as in making a funnel. Larger funnels are blown 
as a bulb, a spot opposite to the tube is heated and touched with a wet 
finger to crack it. This part is then heated thoroughly and twirled 
rapidly, which causes it to expand and open widely. Other funnels are 
cast in moulds, the glass being melted and poured like lead. To unite 
the pieces, as fig. 12, C, heat a spot on the side of the tube, and also the 
end of any odd piece of glass, and using tho latter as a handle, draw out 
the hot glass sideways, break it ofi", leaving a short piece (tubular) 
standing out, and unite this to the other, as required, tho same as in the 
junction of A or B. Another way is to close the end of the tube, heat a 
spot, and blow a small bulb on the side ; open this, and thus form a pro- 
jection to which the tube may be applied as before. 

In glass-blowing, nothing but '^ practice will make perfect." 



HOW ^JX) MAKJ<: A MAGIC T.ANTETIN", 

The Magic Lantern is one of tlie most pleasing of oi)tical instrunionts, 
and has always a charm of tho most attractive nature for young folks. 
It is used to produce enlarged pictures, which, being painted on glass, are 
thrown upon a white sheet placed against tho wall of a room. A small 



12(5 EVEKY BOY IIIS OAYX ALA^'UFACTUKEE. 

lautcni may be bought, with everything complete, aiul a dozen shdes of 
painting, for a few dollars ; but as some may prefer to try their skill in 
making one, we have prepared the following simple directions : 

Materials for the Lantern.— A lantern, that is to say, the box, 
case, or frame, may be made of wood, tin, or thick paste or millboard. 
If made of tin, you must call in the assistance of a tinman to cut the tin 
and solder it up together. If made of wood, you must have the assistance 
of a carpenter, or borrow a saw and plane, a hammer, and various other 
tools. If made of paste or millboard, you will require nothing but a glue- 
pot and somq strong melted glue, some sheets of millboard, and the va- 
rious dimensions can be cut into shape with a strong pair of scissors or a 
good sharp knife — the best for the purpose is a shoemaker's knife, and 
with the assistance of a sharpening stone, a good edge can be put on to 
the knife when blunted by cutting the millboard or pasteboard. 

Millboard is made in sheets of various degrees of thickness, and can 
be bought by the sheet at the bookbinder's or stationer's. Cut the 
sheet into pieces about a foot square and then paste on pieces of old 
newspapers until it gets a good thickness, and press the whole together 
by placing it in a binder's press, or between two boards with a heavy- 
weight on the top, so that all the pieces wanted for the lantern — sides, 
top, and bottom, (six in all), can be served in the same way, and a very- 
strong and cheap material procured for making the box to hold the light, 
an'd carry the tube that contains the lenses. 

Making the Lantern. — Take four pieces of thick pasteboard, pre- 
pared by any of the methods described, about eight inches square. Two 
pieces must be quite plain ; the other four must be as follows : — the toj) 
piece must have a place cut out to put on the chimney or tube, to take 
away the smoke from the lamp ; the front piece must have a place cut 
out to take the square frame or groove in which the pictures are inserted, 
and to carry the tube in which the lenses are placed ; another piece must 
have a portion cut out of the centre, and hinged on with pieces of leather 
to serve as a door ; while the bottom piece must have holes about half an 
inch in diameter made in it to admit the air, as this bottom must be kept 
off the table-top, or whatever the lantern may rest on during exhibition, 
by two pieces of wood about a quarter of an inch thick and one inch, 
broad ; these pieces must be glued on to the bottom edge from front to 
back, in order to let air up through the holes in the bottom, to enable 
the light to burn clear, and not fog the glasses. 

These six pieces must be glued, pasted, or otherwise fastened together, 
with the chimney at the top, and the tube in front. To complete the 
lantern there must be the box, the lamp, the reflector, the chimney for 
top, the tube front, and the lenses. When the lantern is finished, give 
the whole of it a good coating of glue-size and then paint it black inside 
and out, either with thin oil-color or lamp-black and thin glue, 'and 
finally, a thin coat of varnish on the outside. 



EVEKY EOT HIS OTTX MAXUFACITEER. 127 

If a tin lautern is preferred, the best way would be to take the " in- 
structions" to a tinman, who could make one without difficulty, and fix 
the lenses which would be given him for that purpose. 

The lenses can be obtained at the optician's, and must bo fast^ one in 
the end of the tube, with a piece of wire bent round at the back to keep 
it in place, the other nearer the lantern, and just before the pictures that 
are to be reflected through. Any optician who sells lenses will tell you 
which to use for the front and which for the back, and how to obtain the 
focus. The tube should be about six or eight inches long, but all the 
various dimensions must be regulated by the size of the lantern and the 
jKDwer and quality of the lenses. The box we have described would carry 
lenses about two inches in diameter, but smaller ones may be had, if de- 
sired ; then the lantern may J3e smaller in proportion. 

The Lamp axd Eeflector. — The lamp must be made of tin, with a 
wick about half an inch broad, filled with sperm oil, and if a glass chim- 
ney can be placed over it, it will burn clearer, give more light, and .be 
more free from smoke — any tinman will make one for a few dimes. The 
reflector is a round piece of tin, •• hollowed up."' as they call it, and fas- 
tened to the back of the lantern, or on the back of the lamp ; the latter 
must be placed so that the bright part of the flame comes about the mid- 
dle of the lens, and when lighted, must slide backwards or forwards 
until the proper place is discovered that shows the picture best ; gener- 
ally about the middle of the lantern, or rather nearer the lens. 

Painting the Pictures. — There are three ways of doing this — either 
to paint them in transparent water-color, to paint them in prepared oil- 
colors, or to transfer small prints or lithographs by means of varnish to 
pieces of glass, and then use them. The materials requisite for each or 
all of these processes will be sable brushes, (the common camel-hair are 
of no use, for they do not keep their points) some ox-gall prepared, some 
cakes of transparent water-color, as Prussian blue, vandyke brown, raw 
sienna, burnt sienna, Italian pink, and lake. For oil-color, the same 
ground up in oil and enclosed in tubes, a bottle of turpentine, some mas- 
tic varnish, and a little japanner's gold size. 

But the most simple plan is the transfer process, which we win aescribo 
presently. If you decide to paint your views in water-color, you must 
get some clear pieces of glass, free from cracks or .scratches, and clean it 
with a little of the prepared ox-gall ; then, when the glass is thoroughly 
clean, dry, and free from grease, fasten the drawing, print, or whatever 
subject you wish to paint, on it to the back with a little gum at each cor- 
ner, then, with a fine sable brush filled with India ink or neutral tint, 
go carefully over the outline ; when dry, fill in with the water-colors 
very lightly, never going over the same place twice ; when this is all dry, 
give it a coat of varnish all over, and put aside to get hard. 

When hard and dry, go over those parts with water-color that want 
strengthening and making bolder, to bring them out, obsening, as bo- 



123 EVERY BOY HIS OWX MA:N^UrACTUKER. 

fore, never to go over twice in the same place till the first is dry, and 
give it a coat of tbin varnish between each coat or tint of water-color. 

If the subjects are to be painted in oil-color, the outline must be care- 
fully marked out with black and a little japanner's size, and when set 
firm and dry, the various tints laid on in the same way as the water-color, 
only that there needs no coating of varnish between each body of tint, 
but let the glass remain for the picture to get dry. 

When all the tints are on, and the subject is strengthened up and made 
as effective as required, a final coat of varnish may be put over it. 

TuANSEEREiNa Peixts. — The transfer method before referred to is 
very simple, and, -when carefully done, very effective. Select a clear 
piece of glass, and give it a coating of thin mastic varnish, then take a 
small, clear, clean wood-engraving or lithograph, and slightly damp the 
back by laying it a few minutes in wetted blotting paper, then press it 
down on the varnish side of the glass, the impression side downward, 
place a piece of dry paper over this and rub it gently to get out the 
superfluous varnish and all the air-bubbles — this can best be done by the 
edge of a bone paper-knife — place a weight upon it, and leave it a couple 
of days to dry j give it plenty of time or you will spoil it ; when thoroughly 
dry and fixed, wet the back and gently rub all the white paper away with 
the finger or a bit of damp sponge, when the subject and lines of the en- 
graving will be found fixed on the varnish ; the picture may then be 
tinted with oil-colors, and with a final coat of varnish is ready to exhibit 
in the lantern. 

In coloring the pictures, the colors must be laid on very thin; the 
comic heads and figures introduced in the illustrations can be fastened 
to apiece of glass slightly at the corners to keep the subject from slipping 
about, and the outline traced as before described, and when thoroughly 
dry, color according to taste and fancy. 

To succeed it is most essential to keep the brushes and colors very 
clean, and free from dust, and not proceed in a hurried or slovenly way, 
as dust, dirt, and carelessness arc great enemies to glass painting. 

When the lantern is all ready and the slides all painted, which slides, 
if in single, round or square pieces, may be protected by having a piece 
of clear, clean glass placed over the paiuted and varnished side, (this will 
keep them from getting scratched or injured), they can be bound to- 
gether with a paper edging^, or put into wooden frames made for the 
purpose. 

Giving ax Exhibitiox. — In exhibiting the views, have a screen of 
fine muslin or white calico fastened tight against the wall, or a white 
wall will answer the purpose as well. Everything must be in good order; 
the lamp well trimmed so as to burn clear and free from smoke. To get 
a clear picture the lantern must be shifted to or from the screen or wall, 
and the tube holding the front lenses gently drawn in or pushed out until 
the proper focus is obtained, which will easily be found by placing your 



EVERY BOY HIS OTYX MAXUPACTURER. 129 

slide upside down in the square aperture at the cud of the lantern-tube. 
The room in which it is intended to exhibit must have no other light in 
it; but be as dark as possible, or the effect of the light in the lantern 
passing through the pictures on to the wall or screen will be lost. 

A much better effect may be produced, if it can be managed, to show 
tJirough the screen. To do this, however, it is necessary to have a very 
strong light, and thin muslin must be used for the screen, which should 
be wetted in a pail of water and shghtly wrung out before fastening it up. 

DissoLTTN'G YzEws PRODUCED WITH OxE La>»'terx. — A pair of 
lanterns are usually employed to produce dissolving views, but a very 
good exhibition of them may be given as follows : Put in the picture 
out of focus you wish to show first, and slowly bring up the focus until 
it is perfect. Then as gradually alter the focus until the picture is again 
indistinct; quietly slip in a second picture, and at the same time remove 
the first. Again bring the focus up, and the picture will be as distinct 
and bright as the first was. This may be continued for any number of 
pictures. 

uo'sv TO :make ax aciieomatic 

TELESCOPE. 

When I was a boy at school, I was, as I still am, very fond of the no- 
ble science of astronomy. Finding that the complete enjoyment of it re- 
quired the assistance of a good telescope, and, Uke most schoolboys, not 
having a long purse, I thought that, with the assistance of the many ar- 
ticles on the subject published in magazines and other books for boys, I 
should have no great difficulty in making one for myself, more especially 
as I am naturally of a constructive turn of mind ; but repeated iiiilures 
led me to suspect what I have since fomd to be the case — viz., that the 
writers of the majority of these articles had never made a telescope them- 
selves, and knew little or nothing on the subject. I therefore determined 
to study the science of optics, and not only to construct, but also to de- 
vise, a telescope for myself, and I at length succeeded in producing, at 
the cost of seven dollars and a half, a telescope equal in all important 
respects to one costing seventy-five or eighty dollars. 

The fruits of my labors will be given to the readers of Every Boy 
HIS owx Manufacturer in this chapter, in which I will show how any 
boy can, with comparatively little trouble, make a good useful telescope. 

The general appearance of the finished instrument is shown in Fig. 1, 
and a section of it in Fig. 2. The same letters arc used to denote the 
same parts in both figures. 

A A is called the body of the telescope ; /, the sliding focus-tube ; o 
the object-glass, fifted in a cell, an enlarge<l section of which is shown in 
Fig. 3; €, the eyepiece; dj the focus-tubo diaphragm, of which Fig. 5 is 
an enlarged view; d, the principal diaphragm, of which Fig. 4 shows a 



130 EVEIIY EOY HIS OWN MAXTJFACTTJREE. 

perspective view j t, a small spring of tin, to prevent the focus-tube from 
sliding too easily. The lower part of Fig. 1 represents the stand, which 
•will he described hereafter. ^ 




The following is a list of all the articles required : 

An achromatic object-glass, diameter 2i inches, focus, 30 inches. 

A Hugenian eyepiece, focus half-an-inch. 

A sheet of zinc, size 28 inches by 7 inches. 

A sheet of tin. 

Three bolts, 1 inch long. 

One bolt, 2i inches long. 

One ounce of lampblack. 

Three boards, 8 inches square, three-quarters of an inch thick. 

A solid cyhnder of deal 8 inches long, 2i inches diameter. 

Screws. 

This is all the expense that a boy who can use a soldering-iron need go 
to ; any of my readers who cannot may obtain the assistance of a tinman 
for a small amount. 






JFiG. 2. 

Having become acquainted with all the parts of the telescope, and 
procured the necessary articles, we may now begin the work of construc- 
tion. The first thing to be made is the body, A A. This is done by 
carefully bending the zinc into the form of. a tube (if possible, round a 
cylinder of wood), taking care that its external diameter is exactly 2i 
inches, and then neatly soldering the edges together. Great care must 
be taken that both ends, particularly that at which the object-glass is to 
be, are perfectly true and even. The focus-tube is to be made of tin ; 
its internal diameter is 1 3-16 inches, and length 8 inches. To one end 
of this the diaphragm shown in Fig. 5 is soldered. This consists of a cir- 



EYERY BOY niS OWX MANUFACTURER. 131 

cular piece of tin, 2 1-lG inches in diameter, having in its centre a hole 
three-eighths of an inch in diameter. Tho dotted line shows where it is 
joined to the focus-tube. This diaphragm serves a double purpose : both 
to limit the amount of light that enters the eye, and also to keep the 
focus-tube steady. Next make a cap (c, Figs. 1 and 2) tightly fitting 
the end of the body, having a circular hole in the middle through which 
the focus-tube may slide easily. The depth of this cap should be one 
inch. 

We now come to the principal diaphragm (Fig. 4, and d', Fig. 2). This 
is similar in appearance to the cap just described; its diameter is such 
that it may slide tightly tvithui the body, and the diameter of the hole in 
its centre is U- inches. This is fixed within the telescope at a distance 
of 8 inches from the object-glass, as shown at d', Fig. 2. Its use is to 
stop the passage of stray rays of light, which would otherwise produce 
indistinct vision. 

When you obtain from an optician an achromatic object-ghiss, as de- 
scribed above, you will find that it consists of two lenses — a double-con- 
vex and a concavo-convex lens. These must be mounted la the cell (ox 






Pig. 3, Ito. 4# J'la. C. 

which more presently), with the convex lens outside, and having its most 
convex side turned inwards towards the concave lens: the two lenses 
must be in close contact with each other. These directions will be bet- 
ter understood by reference to Fig. 3. 

The cell, of which Fig. 3 is a section, consists of a ring of tin li inch 
deep and 2^ inches in internal diameter. One edge of this ring is turned 
over to the depth of one-sixteenth of an inch {b b. Fig. 3), to prevent tho 
object-glass from slipping through. 

Having first carefully cleaned both lenses, place them in this cell ac- 
cording to the directions given above : they must be kept in their i)lace 
by means of a hoop of tin one-eighth of an inch wide, fitting tightly in- 
side the cell, to which it must bo neatly soldered {a a, Fig. 3). 

Tho brass oyepieco will exactly fit the outer end of tho focus-tubo {c, 
Figs. 1 and 2), and if tho edge of the tube be very slightly turned inwards 
it will act as a screw, and keep tho eyepiece firmly in its place. The 
eyepiece contains two plano-convex lenses, with a diaphragm between 
them; those of tho best quality are fitted with a dark glass for looking 
at the sun, which must be unscrewed and taken off for uight-work. 



132 EVEEY BOY HIS OWN MANUFACTURER. 

The spring t^ Fig. 2, is made of a slip of tin half an inch wide and 2-i- 
inches long, bent into the form shown in the figure. One end is soldered 
to the body and the other is left free. 

A tin cap must also be made to cover the object-glass when not in use. 

Before putting together the several parts of the telescope the whole 
interior of the body and focus-tube, as well as both sides of the dia- 
phragms, must be brushed over with a thin paint made of lampblack and 
turpentine, to prevent reflection. This is done by means of a brush fas- 
tened to the end of a long stick. When dry the parts may be put to- 
gether as shown in Figs. 1 and 2. 

It is absolutely necessary that a telescope for astronomical purposes 
should be fixed to a firm yet easily-adjusted stand. The form which I 
have adopted is excellent both for its efficiency and simplicity. 

Take one of your boards and draw a line parallel to one of its edges, 
at a distance of half an inch frona it ; and, taking the middle point of 
this line as centre, draw upon it a semi-circle with a radius of three 
inches. With the assistance of these lines you will easily be able to cut 
the board into the form of d, Fig. 1, which consists of a semi-circle, having 
at each end a projection one inch long and half an inch deep. Bore a 
hole in the middle, at a distance of three inches from the straight side, 
and cut a groove along this edge to fit the body of the telescope. 

From one end of the cylinder of wood before mentioned cut out a slice 
5f inches long, and three-quarters of an inch thick, in a longitudinal di- 
rection, thus converting the cylinder into a kind of fork, into which the 
semi-circle will fit, as shown in fig. 1. 

The two remaining boards must be cut into circles eight inches in di- 
ameter ; to the centre of one of these the cylinder must be fixed, very 
firmly, perpendicular to it. This board must then be attached to the 
other by means of one of the small bolts, in such a manner that it may 
turn freely yet steadily upon it, in the same way as the upper millstone 
turns upon the lower one in a common corn-mill. The lower board must 
then be fastened immovably to a common tripod-stand, which should be 
about five feet high. 

The telescope must now be securely fastened to the semi-circle, as 
shown in Fig. 1, by means of two of the small bolts. The bolt s should 
be seven inches from the cap c. Place the semi-circle, with the telescope 
attached, in the cleft of the cylinder (see Fig. 1), and having bored a 
hole through it about two inches from the top, introduce the 2i-inch 
bolt, which will also pass through the hole in the semi-circle. Adjust the 
nut at the end so that the semi-circle may turn to any angle neither too 
stiffly nor too easily — and you have now completed what opticians call 
'^a 30-inch achromatic astronomical telescope, mounted on a firm stand, 
with horizontal and vertical movements." The onJy difference between 
the instrument here described and one costing seventy-five or eighty dol- 
lars is that the latter is made of brass and has rackwork adjustments. 



EVERY BOY HIS OWN MANCFACTUREE. J33 



ELECTEOTYPIKG, 



CHAPTER I. 

ELECTRICITY — SIMPLE, CHEAP APPARATUS — MOULDS — SOLUTIONS — TO 
MAKJ: a MEDALLION. 

It is now about thirty years since attention was attracted by some very 
remarkable reproductions in copper of well-known basso-relievos, such as 
the copy of the '^ Last Supper" of Leonardo da Yinci, which were ex- 
hibited in the opticians' windows of Loudon, Liverpool, aud some other 
large towns. Most faithful copies they were, to the most minute aud acci- 
dental particulars, of the plaster iPodels from which they had evidently 
been taken. There were the initials of the Italian image-maker in the 
corner, and there was the print of the fracture which had deprived one 
of the characters of a nose. There was the same blurred indecision 
about the outline of the figures which a plaster cast would naturally pre- 
sent, when it had been produced from a mould which had in its turn 
been made from another plaster cast, and so on, in long succession from 
the original. They were not castings, the metal was too thin ; and the 
peculiar appearance of the under side showed that they had not been 
raised with the stamp and die. It was rough and granular, like tbe sur- 
face of a rock which had been formed by geological deposit in the ocean- 
bed. The depressions, too, had a strange miuutencss about them, as 
though the metal had not been forced into the hollows of the matrix, but 
had fallen there, as by its own gravity. Curiosity was even more 
whetted than satisfied when it came out that these beautiful productions 
were indeed the result of deposition; that the metal had fallen upon the 
mould, not in a molten state, but in the shape of a shower of grains in- 
conceivably minute, which had massed together by their own power of 
cohesion ; and that the producing agent was that mysterious force which 
pervades all Nature, of which we know so little, and yet of which every 
new and startling discovery we have made has proved of such immenso 
importance to man — the force of electricity. 

At the expenditure of a very small amount, the reader may begin, on a 
small scale, to produce such curiosities for himself. For apparatus ho 
will require a glass or earthenware vessel (Fig. 1), with ujjright sides 
preferably, capable of holding about a quart; and also a small j)orous 
vessel, narrow and upright, to stand inside the other (Fig. 2). A 
l)rcservc jar will answer admirably for the first purpose, and a very small 
rtower-pot, if tall and narrow enough, for the other. But if the latter is 
not easily obtainable, a porous cell can bo manufactured in a few min- 
utes. Roll a piece of brown paper two or three times round the end of a 



134 



EVERY BOY HIS OWN MANUFACTURER. 



ruler, fold over the end as a grocer would make up the end of a parcel, 
close it well with sealing-wax, and also fasten up the side seam in like 
manner. If there is no passage for liquid hut through the pores of the 
paper, it will do well enough. Should the flower-pot be handy, it is to 
he preferred, hut the little hole in the bottom must be stopped up with 
a cork tightly pressed in, then cut off close, and both sides well covered 
with sealing-wax or shellac. 

Into the outer vessel now put some crystals of blue vitriol, or sulphate 
of copper, procurable at the nearest chemist's shop, and pour upon them 
some boiling water. They will soon dissolve, and the water will become 
of a deep blue color ; add other crystals, till the water will dissolve no 
more, when the solution is said to be saturated. Let it stand long enough 
to test this, and to get cool ; meanwhile prepare the other vessel by 
nearly filling it with water, and pouring into the water a small quantity 
of sulphuric acid, not more than one part in ten or twelve. 

The smaller vessel may now be put inside the larger, and may rest 
against its side, care being taken to pour off some of the blue liquor if the 
inner vessel is not tali enough to stand well above the surface. 






Fig. 1. 



Fig. 2. 



Fig. 3. 



Now we have to convert this apparatus into a voltaic cell, and make it 
produce electricity for us. Get a small bar of zinc, about as thick as a 
finger, and as long, and attach to one end a piece of copper wire. The 
wire may be wrapped round, soldered on, or, best of all, the zinc may be 
run around it in the molten state. 

A bar of zinc may be easily made, if there is a melting ladle at hand ; 
and any odd scraps of old lead pipe, etc., may then be used up. .Fill a 
small box with sand, or even fine garden-mould will do, and having 
rammed it down well push in the end of the poker to form a mould. 
Pour the melted zinc cleanly into the hole, holding the end of the copper 
wire there at the same time, for the metal to close round it. It is desira- 
ble, though, to perform this operation as much at arm's length as possi- 
ble, for the fumes of molten zinc are deleterious. If a piece of thin sheet 
iron can be got, and rolled into a little cylinder, to line the mould, the 



EYEEY BOY HIS OW^' MAXUFACTURER. 



135 



casting will be cleaner and smoother, and better for a purpose that we 
shall shortly have to describe. The wirs may novr be cut off and bent 
over (Fig. 3), so that when the zinc bar is dropped into the porous cell, 
the end may dip into the blue liquid in the outer vessel. Directly this 
is done, electric action begins, and a deposit of copper to form upon the 
end of the wire. 

Now suppose we want to get a fac-simile of a small cast or medal. Wc 
must first make a mould, and for a medal, gutta-percha will make 
as good a mould as any. Warm and pinch off a small piece, 
sufficient to cover the face of the medal when spread out, to the thick- 
ness of about a quarter of an inch, and knead it between the fingers 
till it acquires the proper consistency to take 
a good impression without sticking. Then 
press it down on the medal with the thumbs 
equally in every part, keeping the thickness 
pretty even, or, if anything, greater in the 
middle, where the relief is highest. 

When the substance begins to harden, It is 
useful to give it a good hard squeeze, in order 
to gain a perfectly sharp impression. Very 
little ingenuity will affect this : it may be 





riQ.4. 



rio. 3. 



done by placing a pad of cloth upon the pntta-percha, and over that a 
piece of wood with a heavy weight upon it ; or the operator may stamp 
upon the piece ot wood ; or. better still, a bar of wood may be inserted 
in some convenient niche, and brought down upon the cloth pad in the 
manner ot a lever ; or, best of all, medal and mould together may be 
squeezed between two pieces of wood in a vise. For a very small 
medal a pair of nut-crackers may be made to answer the puri)060. 



136 EVEKT BOY HIS OWls MAXDTACTUEErv. 

When the mould is pulled away, it -will be found to bear a pretty 
correct resemblance of the features of its model, reversed, of course. 
Then take the end of the copper wire, and bend it into a loop, and 
having warmed this slightly in the fire, press it on the back of the 
gutta-percha mould till it buries itself in the plastic material; then 
close over, and allow it to get cold (Fig. 4). 

We have now to make our mould into a conductor. At present it 
possesses no chemical or electrical affinity for the copper particles, to 
attract them to its surface, and if it were immersed, no deposit would 
form upon it, but only on the copper wire immediately above it. It 
will be necessary to give it a coating that shall have an affinity, and 
for this purpose black-lead is the most convenient material. Brush it 
over softly with the ordinary kitchen black-lead brush, taking care to 
reach all the lines in the impression, and also to black the top of the 
mould, and a little of the wire ; for if there is any break in the con- 
tinuity the operation will fail. 

All is now ready for work. Place the zinc plug in the porous cell, 
and bend the wire so that the mould may hang freely in the blue 
solution, not touching the bottom or the side of the vessel, but still as 
far away from the porous cell as conveniently may be. In about two 
days there should be formed upon the face of the mould a complete 
fac-simile of the original, in good tough copper. 

Some ludicrous mishap may possibly have occurred, the cause of 
which will be at once apparent, and which will only increase the 
interest taken in the experiment. For instance, the black-lead coating 
may have been imperfect at one place, when it will be found that the 
deposit has carefully avoided that spot, and left a gap in the impres- 
sion. Or perhaps the black-leaded finger may have touched the back 
of the mould, near the wire, in which case a faithful copy will be pre- 
sented of that, too. If the face of the mould has been touched by the 
finger before immersion, the chances are that the print of the skin will 
bo found on the metallic copy ; or even a breath upon the mould may 
leave an impression. These little tricks of the volatile agent will only 
cause laughter, and give zest to the pursuit. 

But failure may sometimes occur from causes which are not so ob- 
vious, and require explanation, and of which the tyro will require some 
further knowledge of the subject to enable him to detect. 

We hope that by the time he has finished the experimental coiu-se 
through which we propose to lead him, he will. not only be an expert 
manipulator, but will have acquired a fair knowledge of the theory 
and principles of the arts of electrotyping and electroplating, together 
with some general idea of the marvelous agent which produces the 
effects. But we must start with small beginnings, and get together a 
few concrete facts before inquiring into the why and the wherefore. 



EVEEY BOY HIS OWX MAXUFACTCRER, 137 

The most likely forms of failure, then, are these : — The metal may 
deposit in the form of coarse dark grains, like sand, having Uttle or no 
cohesion, and will crumble to pieces under the touch. In tliat case the, 
action has been too quick. The acid in the porous cell may have been 
too strong, and must be weakened ; or the surface of zinc acted upon has 
been disproportioned to its corresponding opposite, the mould in the 
outer cell ,• or lastly, the mould has been hung too near, and the particles 
have been attracted to it too violently. We may get over the one by 
resting the arch of the wire on the edge of a piece of thin window-glass, 
placed upright on the top of the jar, so that the plug may not dip so far 
into the acid ; the other may be got over by simply altering the bend of 
the wire; but, for the latter purpose, the following is a convenient 
arrangement : Let the wire bend over from the zinc in the form of a 
straight horizontal arm, and let the mould he connected with a separate 
short wire, having a loop to slip over the other ; it can then be shifted 
backwards at pleasure, and taken out occasionally, to see how the deposit 
is getting on (Fig. 5). 

Or the contrary result may have taken place — the action may have 
been too slow — and the copper deposit will then be perfect to appearance, 
but of a pale color, and so brittle that it could not be pulled oft without 
breaking. In this case the reverse precautions must be observed ; but 
only repeated tests, and perhaps a tantalizing process ot trial and 
error, will ensure a good malleable deposit. The experimenter will find, 
however, that he will readily feel his way ; no difficulties will occur that 
need discourage him. Should there be an absolute failure of deposit, he 
must look sharply to his connections; the wire must not only touch, but 
be clean where it touches; and it will be well to scrape it where the 
contacts occur. There must be a continuous conductor; a slight coating 
of dirt might break the continuity. 

Perhaps it may be found that the cell, after working well for a little 
time, comes to a dead standstill. If so, look at the zinc plug, and see if 
the acid is attacking it in any particular part and eating a hole into it. 
Should this be found, it is a sign that what is called local action is taking 
place, and it would be hopeless to go on. The remedy for it is to amal- 
gamate the zinc with mercury ; and, indeed, this should always be done 
before starting ; but as beginners are generally a little anxious to get 
on, we have omitted mention of it till now. The process is very easy. 
Dip the zinc into the sulphuric acid solution for a short time: then, 
holding it over a plate, pour upon it a little mercury from a bottle. It 
will spread natin\'iUy over the surface, but it may bo helped by rubbinjr 
with a piece of cork. If there is any spot that will not talr, touch it 
with the acid again, and it will then pick up a globnlo of mercury from 
the plate. The advantage of having a smooth plug will now become 



138 EVERY BOY HIS OWl^ MANPFACTUEEE. 

apparent ; if not smooth, it should be made so by scraping or rubbing. 
The mercury does not coat the zinc, properly speaking, but forms an 
amalgam upon its surface, which equalizes the action of the acid; and 
performs an electrical duty which we shall explain further on» 

So provided, the operator may amuse himself by producing an endless 
variety of little objects with which to furnish a perfect cabinet of curiosi- 
ties. He need not confine himself to producing one article at a time ; two 
or more moulds may be hung in the liquid, by arranging the main wire 
conveniently so that they may hang cle^^r of each other. But he must re- 
member to add a few crystals now and then, as the solution becomes ex- 
hausted. 

Almost anything can be copied, only there are different ways of making 
moulds to suit the material. Suppose, for instance, that he wishes to get 
a copy of a plaster medallion. The best way to proceed is as follows : — 
Place the medallion, face upwards, on a plate, into which has been 
poured a small quantity of clean water. The plaster will begin to absorb 
the water, and in due time will become saturated with it, producing a 
waxy appearance upon its surface. While in this state, bind round it 
neatly, with thread or cotton, a strip of thick paper or cardboard, so as 
to form a fence or wall round it a quarter of an inch or so in height. Into 
this pour melted wax — equal parts of white wax and bees' wax answer 
best — till the receptacle is full. When cool there will be a perfect mould 
of the medallion, which will come away easily, by reason of the plaster 
having been saturated; otherwise it would have absorbed the melted 
wax. The black lead must not be brushed on a delicate mould like this, 
but it must be treated lightly with a camel-hair pencil. 

Of course a permanent matrix can be formed at any time by simply 
depositing upon the original article, and backing the deposit up with 
lead, solder, or even wax ; there is only the double process to be gone 
through ; but if a number of copies are required, the trouble will repay 
Itself. In depositing upon metal, however, either medals or moulds, the 
back and other parts that are to be kept clear must be coated with resin- 
ous varnish, and the face with black-lead. Otherwise the deposit would 
form all over and would adhere ; the article would be plated instead of 
copied. 

One little word of warning may not be needless ; it is not advisable to 
use as models United States coin. A galvanic battery forms part of the 
stock in trade of the professional coiner, and moulds made from new quar- 
ters and half-dollars might look a little suspicious. Before depositing 
a mould on a plaster cast it must be saturated with melted wax, or the 
acid in the blue solution will soon destroy it. Pour the melted wax upon 
a hot plate, and let the plaster cast lie in it. 



KVEKY BOY HIS OWN MABTJFACTUREE. 139 

CHAPTEK II. 

ELECTEICITY — ZINC — COPPER — CIRCUITS— OUR EXPERIMEXT — POSI- 
IIYE — XEGATIYE. 

What is electricity ? No one knows. So potent and all-pervading is 
it; that men have variously supposed it to be the source of light, heat, 
and even of life itself. We know, or at least we have reasonable grounds 
for believing, that it exists in every conceivable form of matter ; but 
though it is all around us, and within us, we have penetrated but a very 
little way into its secrets. Of its laws we know something ; of its purpose 
or office in creation we may permit ourselves to conjecture somewhat ; but 
of its nature we know nothing. Whether it is a principle apart from 
matter, or whether it is only a state or quality of matter itself, is a question 
that has puzzled the scientists ever since they have known of its exist- 
ence. As it will pass from one substance to another, or flow through 
suitable conductors, it has been thought to be a fluid — exquisitely thin 
and subtle, but still a fluid ; bearing, perhaps, the same relation to the 
highly rarefied ether which is said to fill all space, as that does to the 
ponderable fluid, water. Some reject the fluid theory, and account for 
its transmission on the undulatory or wave principle, a notion derived 
from a well-known fact concerniog the waves of the sea, which travel on 
and dash with great force against an object intercepting them, while at 
the same time every particle of water rises and falls in the same plnce. 
The passage of electricity is supposed by these to be a similar disturbance 
of the particles of matter. But though each of these views has been up- 
held with learned pertinacity, and fortified by numerous experiments, we 
have not yet approached to a conclusion as to which of them is true. 
Perhaps neither. Electricity may be something so utterly distinct from 
all other things of which we have knowledge, that our ordinary experi- 
ence cannot be^made to apply to it. Wc only know that we can produce 
it, or excite it, in some few substances by certain moans ; that we can 
detect its presence by delicate instruments, or by actual sensible experi- 
ence of its efl'ects ; that wo can collect it and conduct it by suitably 
apparatus ; and that we can produce certain results with it if we use the 
methods which experience has pointed out. Beyond this, all is con- 
jecture. 

One of the few things we know about it is that it is of two kinds, to 
which science hac given the names oi positive and negative. These terms 
are arbitrarily chosen, and must not be taken in their usual meaning. 
It is Dot to be inferred, for instance, that negative electricity means the 
absence or negation of electricity ; it simply means electricity of an ojipo- 
site kind to positive. How these act and react u|)on each other wo 
shall presently see. 

Another thing we know is, that electricity reciuires a circuit to travel 



140 EVERY BOY HIS OWN MANUFACTURER 

in. It may be trausmitted from one body to another, either by contact 
or by some intervening conducting medium ; but unless there is also a 
conducting medium to carry it round again to the place from which it 
started, no action will take place. There is, however, an apparent ex- 
ception to this rule. If a body highly charged be brought only into 
proximity to one lowly charged, the electricity, making a powerful 
effort, will leap space, and complete the circuit itself, the distance it is 
able to clear being proportioned to the strength of the one charged and 
the weakness of the other. But in its normal condition, a circuit must 
be established in order to give motion to it, and the slightest break in 
the continuity will stop the action. This fact, and the preceding one, 
must be constantly borne in mind. ] 

There are many ways in which electricity can be produced or excited, 
whichever may be the proper term to use ; but at present we have on?y 
to do with one ; the others will come by-and-by. We are now producing 
it by decomposition. There is reason to believe that electricity is evolved 
whenever the chemistry of Nature resolves witer into its original ele- 
ments ; we know that it attends the decomposition of animal and vege- 
table substances ; but it is In the decomposition of metals that its presence 
becomes most apparent. The zinc plug is being decomposed by the acid, 
and .n the process of giving off a quantity of electricity. The solution 
in tne outer vessel is highly charged with copper, being, as we know, 
sulphate of copper crystals dissolved in water ; these same crystals having 
been formed by the dissolution of copper oxide by sulphuric acid. Thus 
there is real metallic copper held in solution in the liquid, though in 
particles so infinitesimal that no human observation could detect them ; 
and so intimately mingled with the other substances that scarcely any 
human means can separate them. Electricity is doing it in this instance. 
Copper is one of the best conductors known, and thus the particles of 
copper in the solution, having a high affinity for electricity, attract it 
through the walls of the porous cell, and as it passes through the solu- 
tion, transmitted from one' partrde to another, it disengages them from 
the liquid, and carries them to the prepared plate or m'old, which is the 
chief attracton Then it passes up the wire, and back again to the zinc, 
completing the circuit which it requires to travel in. Strange to say, 
no electricity would pass if the zinc and the copper were hung separately 
in the two liquids. That which was generated by the dissolution of the 
zinc, would probably pass off into the atmosphere through the bubbles 
of hydrogen which rise to the surface of the acid, and cause the efferves- 
cence which will be perceived, but none would pass towards the copper, 
notwithstanding its high affinity. But directly the circuit is completed 
by the conducting wire, the current sets in motion, starting from the zinc 
trenerator, through the acid, which is charged with metallic particles 
from the zinc, and so conducts it through the porous walls of the inner 



EVERT EOT HIS OWN MANUFACTURER. 



141 



cell, ^hich is charged with conducting particles from both sides ; through 
the copper solution to the prime conductor, towards which it finds its 
way in as direct a line as possible ; and so on round by the wire to the 
zinc again. This little explanation will suffice for the present ; further 
experiments will lead us more deeply into the subject. 





Fig. 6. 



Fig. 7. 



While the single-cell arrangement described in our last chapter will 
do very well for first experiments, the votary of electrical recreation will 
soon desire to push his researches farther, and for this purpose he will 
require a more extensive apparatus. 

It is possible, however, that he may have encountered some little dis- 
appointment at the outset, from failure, arising from some cause to him 
unknown, and which wo have hitherto omitted to notice. In such a 
case, we have only to repeat the advice formerly given. Be not dis- 
couraged ; go carefully over the details of the work already done, and, if 
necessary, retrace every step. 

Such a process will bo of infinitely greater advantage in the long run, 
and bo even productive of more amusement, than the best scries of suc- 
cessful experiments conducted according to rule. It is impossible to 
forewarn the beginner against all the causes of failure that may arise. 

Some may have their origin in defective materials, others may (l('j)ond 
upon the weather, the temperature of the room, and even the electrical 



141 



EVERY BOY HIS OWN MANUEACTUREE. 



-v^*; >^ 



condition of the atmosphere, the last being a contingency against which 
there is no guarding. A sharp frost will stop the action, if the vessel be 
left in a position exposed to it, and in a room of varying temperature 
the process will go on faster or slower, and in general will not be satis- 
factory. 

Much depends on the relative dimensions of the vessels, and on the 
size of the zinc generator, in connection with the strength of the solution, 
all of which can only be determined by actual trial. 

The writer remembers that his first experiment came to grief through 
the non-observance of some of these conditions. The depositing went on 

merrily for two or three hours, 
first coating the copper wire, then 
the top part of the mould, and 
then gradually spreading down- 
wards over the prominent rim, 
until it almost met on the lower 
edge,when it unaccountably stop- 
ped (fig. 6). 

As it was given over for a bad 
job, the cell was left undisturbed 
for some days, and then the zinc 
plug on being lifted out showed a 
beautiful incrustation of crystals 
covering the entire sm-face that 
had been immersed )fig. 7. ) These 
were crystals of sulphate of zinc, 
which had been formed by the 
over dissolution of the metal in 
the acid, the plug having been too 
large. 

The solution had become sur- 
charged with the sulphate, and 
had begun to re-discharge it in 
the form of crystals, both on the 
ii'i(i.S, zinc itself and on the walls of the 

cell, the pores of which it had efifectually stopped. 

In due time the incrustation would have grown so as to fill up the 
cell, and render the plug difficult of removal. This would not have hap- 
pened if the zinc had been amalgamated; and again let us repeat that 
this prehminary should never be dispensed with if good results are to be 
insured. Now we will go on to our more elaborate experiments. 

For quickness and certainty of operation, it is necessary to have a 
separate cell and depositing trough. Let the reader take the earthenware 
jar which contained his copper solution, and having nearly filled it with 




EYEEY EOT HIS OVTS MANUFACTURER. 



143 



dilute sulphuric a<;id, place therein at opposite sides a plate of amalga- 
mated zinc and one of clean bright copper. Let a copper wire be at- 
tached to each, and bent over so as to form anarch, as shown in fig. 8. 
While the wires are disconnected no action will take place j but directly 
they are made to touch, a multitude of bubbles of gas will be seen to 
issue from the copper plate, and escape at the surface of the liquid, 
causing a slight effervescence, similar to that which took place on the 
immersion of the unamalgamated zinc in the acid of the porous cell. 

This shows that electrical action is going on, a^ current is setting in 
from the zinc to the copper, through the liquid, and traversiug the wire 
back again to the zinc, completing the circuit. The same thiug would 
happen if the two plates were simply leaned against each other by their 
upper edges, but the conducting wires will be found useful for further 
illustrations. The reader is now requested to remember what was said 
about positive and negative electricity. 




TlO. 9. 



Before a current can be set in motion, the body from which it proceeds 
and the body to which it is conducted must be in opposite states of elec- 
tricity, the one positive and the other negative. The current flows from 
the positive to the negative body ; or perhaps it would be more correct 
to say, is strongly attracted by the negative body. 

We shall know more of this as we go on; at present it is only neces- 
sary to remark, tliat it is the zinc plate which is giving off positive elec- 
tricity, while the copper i)late, being negative, is receiving it; and it ic 
that fact which determines the direction of the current. The arrows in 
the diagram show this direction. Nevertheless, the wire which proceeds 
from the negative copper plate is called the positive pole, or electrode of 
the apparatus, because outside oj the liquid, the current flows in the di- 
rection of the zinC; and the wire attached to the ziuc plate thereby 



144 EVEKY BOY HIS OWX MANUrACTUEEII. 

becomes the negative electrode. These two wires carried into a separate 
vessel, containing a solution of sulphate of copper, will set up electrical 
action therein; and if a second plate of copper be hung to the positive 
electrode, and a mould or other article suitable for deposition be hung 
to the negative electrode, both being immersed in the solution without 
touching each other, these two articles will now become the positive and 
negative electrodes, and the current will set in from the one to the other, 
completing the circuit through the liquid, and in its course decomposing 
the liquid, and carrying the copper particles to the prepared surface of 
the mould (fig. 9). 

CHAPTER III. 

ACTION OF THE ACIDS— YARIOUS BATTEKIES— WEIGHTS DEPOSITED. 

It is not at first sight apparent what the arrangement named in our 
last chapter is useful for. It is requisite to generate a greater quantity 
of electricity, so that the action shall be constant, unvarying, and rapid. 
A greater quantity of electricity is generated because there is a reciprocal 
action going on between the zinc plate, the liquid, the copper plate, and 
the whole apparatus. If we could only now see the process by which 
Nature is aiding our operations, we should indeed be interested. The 
sulphuric acid is disintegrating the zinc, through the innumerable pores 
of its quicksilver-coated surface, thereby evolving an abundance of elec- 
tricity, which in its turn is acting upon the water separating its particles 
of oxygen and hydrogen, and endowing each with electrical life. By an 
inconceivably rapid alternation of decomposition and re-combination of 
the substance, water, the current pulsates with the speed of lightning to 
the surface of the copper plate, which is acted upon more feebly by the 
acid, and so assumes a negative electrical state with regard to it, exer- 
cising thereby a strong attraction for the positively charged oxygen par- 
ticles, and repelling or setting from the negatively charged particles of 
hydrogen. Then the current rushes through the wire to the positive 
electrode, and by it is communicated to the copper-saturated liquid, 
which in turn it decomposes, having the strongest affinity for its metallic 
particles, and inducing in them each the strange electrical property, im- 
pels them towards the negative electrode by the force of the current, 
under the inexorable law which demands the formation of a circuit. 
Something new has happened, also, in this latter part of the process, to 
give a new impetus to the motion, and to react upon the motion started 
in the generating cell. The blue liquid, robbed of its copper particles, 
acts chemically, by reason of the acid containca in it, upon the copper 
plate which forms the positive electrode, and dissolves it just sufficiently 
to maintain its own equilibrium ; by that action generating new and 
positive electricity, which increases the quantity already in motion, and 



EVERY BOY HIS 0^7y MAXUFACTURER. 145 

doubles the foiTce of the action. Aided by these reciprocal impulses, the 
current speeds on at a., rate altogether iucouceivable by any efifort of the 
human intellect, effecting such marvelous changes in its passage that, if 
only mortal eye could behold them, would strike us dumb with wonder. 

It will be found that both the zinc plate and the copper electrode aro 
dissolved in proportion to the amount of copper deposited on the negative 
electrode ; and if it should be thought strange that the copper plate in 
the generating cell remains apparently intact, and the negative electrode 
aotually receives an addition to its volume in the shape of the deposited 
particles, -while both are exposed to the same chemically dissolving in- 
fluences as the other two plates, it must be remembered that the force 
of the electrical current is setting strongly towards them (see page 139), 
they being in the negative or attracting condition, and thereby probably 
protects them from the action of the acid, thrusting it aside as it were 
with a force stronger than its own. 

Having arrived at this point, that the object is to obtain electricity in 
quantity, we will now proceed to describe the various forms of apparatus 
that have been devised with that view. These arc known by the names 
of their inventors, and are usually spoken of as Daniell's battery, 
Grove's battery, etc. 

It is improper, however, to speak of a single apparatus as a battery, 
even as it would be to speak of a single cannon as a battery of artillery ; 
it requires two or more cells to be connected together, in a way we shall 
shortly describe, to constitute a battery. 

The arrangement just described is a single voltaic pair, or cell. We 
shall, for convenience, adopt the usual nomenclature, and commence by 
describing 

DanielVs Battery. — This is a favorite arrangement, and consists of a 
porous cell placed in an outer vessel constructed of or lined with copper. 
An amalgamated rod of zinc is placed in the porous cell, which is filled 
with dilute sulphuric acid, and the outer vessel is filled with saturated 
solution of sulphate of copper, mixed with a few drops of sulphuric 
acid, and having a small cambric bag of crystals suspended in it, to bo 
dissolved as the solution becomes weaker. 

Our first single-cell arrangement can be converted into a Daniell's by 
simply bending round a sheet of copper to form a lining for the outer 
vessel. A wire from the zinc forms the positive electrode, and one from 
the copper cylinder the negative. (Fig. 10.) The advantage of this 
arrangement is manifold. 

First, the negative attracting surface surrounds the positive g(Mierat()r, 
and induces more electricity ; second, the hydrogen is not allowed to 
escape unused, but is arrested by tlie sulphate of copper, which it de- 
composes ; and third, a constant process of loss and renewal goes on 



146 



EVERT BOY HIS OWX MAXUFACTUHER. 



through the deposition of copper crystals on the outer cylinder, and the 
corresponding dissolution of the crystals in the bag. 

All these are active generators of electricity. By the use of this ar- 
rangement, two depositing processes are therefore conducted at once, 
viz., that on the copper liniug of the cell, and that on the model or 
mould ; and this might appear wasteful, but that the deposited copper 
has a marketable value, and can be readily sold for jewelers' purposes, 
being pure and free from alloy. 

It was in making experiments as to the best methods of generating 




Fig. 10.— DAOTEtL'S BATTEKY. 



voltaic electricity, that the beautiful process of electrotyping was stum- 
bled upon. The decomposition of a sulphate of copper solution seemed 
to recommend itself as a likely method ; and when tried and found to 
succeed, it was also discovered, without being looked for, that the result 
of the decomposition was a deposit of metallic copper, which showed 
the print of every line and scratch of the surface it was deposited upon. 
Thus, many of our most valuable inventions are the result of accident. 



ETERT BOY HIS OWS MA^'UFACT^EEFv. 



147 



Grove's Battery is also a favorite, from the energy of its action. Our 
two original vessels can again be made to do duty. Within the porous cell 
suspend a slip of platinum foil, folded lengthwise, without touching, so 
as to gee as large a convoluted surface as possible, for the acid to act 
upon. Place the porous cell in the middle of an earthenware jar, and 
surround it with a roll of amalgamated ziuc. Into the porous cell pour 
strong nitric acid, and into the outer jar dilute sulphuric acid (about one 
to six). 

The positive electrode proceeds from the platinum, and the negative 
from the zinc (Fig. 11). 
Bunsen's Battery is precisely the same as the above, with tho excep- 
tion tha a stick of carbon is 
substituted for the platinum. 
The carbon suitable for this 
purpose is obtained from tho 
distillation of coal, in gas ma- 
king retorts, and may be pro- 
cured from any chemist. It is 
a much cheaper medium than 
platinum, and not much less 
powerful. 

Smee's Battery. — In this a 
plate of silver (s) covered with 
a very thin layer of platinum 
is fixed between the plates of 
ziuc (z z), the plates being pre- 
vented from contact by slips 
of wood, and the whole coupled 
together with a binding screw. 
The plates are immersed in di- 
lute sulphuric acid (Fig. 12). 

WoUaston's Battery. — This 
is on a reverse principle to 
Smee's, being composed of one 
zinc plate between two plates of copper, the negative enclosing the pos- 
itive, instead of the positive enclosing the negative. The solution used 
is the same. 

It is unnecessary to pursue tho list further. The principle of action 
is identical in all cases, viz., to get power and vohnnc of current by in- 
ducing positive electricity to the greatest possible extent in one sub- 
stance, and negative electricity to the same extent in the other. 

The substances which have been named, and many otliers, are known 
tx) electrical science for their positive and negative properties, their rcla- 




11— gkovp:s cattery. 



148 



EVERT BOY HIS OWIS MAIfUFACTURER, 



tive positions with regard to each other in that respect being well ascer- 
tained. The action of the different acids upon each of them is also well 
understood, and the superiority of one arrangement over another con- 
sists in the more or less ingenuity with which these different elements 
are combined. Some have a preference for one system, some for an- 
other, and the probability is that if advice were sought from a dozen 
experimenters, each would recommend a different apparatus. 

Any of them may be procured complete from the manufacturing 
chemists of any large town. With a single pair on any of these systems, 
and with a convenient square depositing trough of sufficient size, the 
learner may obtain copies of casts, medallions, etc., large enough to form 
respectable ornaments for his walls,, or may even make his amusements 
serve him for a variety of useful 
purposes, which will easily suggest 
themselves. 

He must remember that, for 
copper deposition, what is want- 
ed is volume, not intensity, of cur- 
rent. Some of the arrangements, 
such as that of Grove, are valua- 
ble for their intensity, and as'such 
are not so suitable for this pur- 
pose, but for other purposes, of 
which we have yet to speak, in- 
tensity is a desideratum, and this 
is to be obtained in perfection 
by the most powerful systems ar- 
ranged in the form of a battery. 

We shall describe this in its 
proper place ; so far as we have 
yet gone, we want only volume, 
and this is to be obtained almost 
without limit by increasing the size of the plates and the capacity of the 
vessels. 

^' Give me," says Mr. Aitken, apostrophizing the new power, ''give me 
more elbow-room ! Increase the capacity of my chambers ; give me more 
cakes, more drink ; lengthen my arms of copper wire ; make my work- 
shop bigger^I care not how far distant. I will work from eve to morn, 
from morn to dewy eve; I want no day of rest: Give me what I ask, 
and leave me alone to work." And by liberally acceding to these do 
mands, the Messrs. Elkington have succeeded in depositing motal stau- 




11G. 12.— SMEE'S ^BATTEEY. 



ues two tons in weight and from ten to fourteen feet in 



;eight, 



some 



EVERY BOY HIS OWN MANUFACTURER. 149 

which may be seen adorning the world-famed Albert Memorial in Hyde 
Park, London. 

Daniell's Battery. Grove's Battery. 

A — Outer earthenware jar. A — Outer jar. 

C— Copper liniug. Z— Zinc roll, 

P — Porous cell. P — Porous cell. 

Z— Zinc rod. P F— Platinum foil. 

P E — Positive electrodo. P E— Positive electrode. 

X E — i^Tegative electrode. X E— Xegative electrode. 



CHAPTER IV. 

THE LEA.D TREE — QUANTITY — INTENSITY — ARRANGEMENTS OF CREELS — 
USES OF ELECTROTYPE. 

One of the simplest and prettiest experiments that can be made with a 
single cell is the formation of the '• lead tree, " a famihar object to lovers 
of scientific pastime. The usual mode ot producing this curious speci- 
men of metallic vegetation is as follows : — 

Fill a four or six-ounce phial of pure water to within an inch of the 
neck, then dissolve in it a teaspoonful of acetate ot lead, shaking it up 
well to secure perfect intermixture ; then add a few drops of hydrochloric 
acid, which will stimulate the action. Have a loosely-fitting cork, and 
bore a hole through the centre ; through this hole pass a piece of zinc 
wire, long enough to reach within half an inch of the bottom of the phial. 

Bend the top of the wire over, so that it cannot fall through. Let the 
whole stand perfectly still for nine or ten hours, and by the end of that 
time the bottle will bo filled with a beautiful mass of foliage (Fig. 13), 
all the leaves formed of lead, yet light as eider-down, as will be seen by tho 
shaking of the liquid. 

It is as well to cut a notch down one side of the cork, to allow a means 
of escape for the generated gas. 

If zinc wire cannot bo readily procured, a narrow strip of sheet zinc will 
equally answer the purpose. 

When the experiment is performed by the aid of voltaic electricity, the 
piece of zinc wire must be suspended as a cathode^ i.e., as tho piece of 
metal or mould to be deposited upon in the depositing trough. A piece 
of lead must also be suspended in the solution as an anode, answering to 
the plate of copper which hangs o[)posite tho mould in tho illustration 
appended to our second chapter, i)ag(; 1J:3. Tho de[)()siting trough nmst, 
of course, be filled with the acetate solution just described. 

Tho moment electrical action is set up, the fine particles of lead will bo 
seen to fly from the anode to the cathode, in a regular and beautiful 
shower, clinging round on all sides, and arranging themselves in tho 



150 



EVERY BOY HIS OWX MAXUFACTURER. 



form of flakes, or leaves, in symmetrical order. The tree will not be so 

perfect a specimen as that produced in the bottle bv what we may call 

/j^ the natural process of growth ; but to see it 

I ly visibly generating under our very eyes con- 

'^^ ^ ^ stitutes the great charm of the experiment. 

It is now time to describe how the elec- 
tric force may be brought to bear upon 
an object with varying degrees of volume 
or concentration. For some purposes, quan- 
tity is required ; for others, intensity. The 
difference between these two may be aptly 
illustrated by the examples of a vessel filled 
with warm water, and a red-hot poker. 
The water, though not too warm for a bath, 
may have diffused throughout it more heat 
than the red-hot poker contains; but in 
the latter the heat is concentrated, and 
therefore mora intense. Where we have 
metals to deal with that have a fair afiBn- 
ity for electricity, we shall require merely 
quantity, in proportion to the magnitude of 
our operations, and the speed with which 
we wish them performed. When we have 
to deal with metals of low affinity, that 
need a concentrated fire of electricity to 
make any impression upon them, we shall 
require intensity. 

It is the same thing in principle as the 
management of a park of artillery, by which 
the fire of many pieces can be directed 
against a wide surface, or a single- point, 
according to the object to be gained. This 
power is obtained m voltaic electricity by 
connecting a number of cells together, and 
the whole arrangement is then, very appro- 
priately, called a battery. A single cell ar- 
rangement, such as we have dealt with 
hitherto, is not properly, though it is usu- 
ally, so called. 

With batteries of greater or less extent, 
the ex]3erimenter may, like a general-in- 
chief, regulate at will the force he brings 
Kg. 13.-THE LEAD TREE. ^^ T^g^r. Let us suppose that a number 
(say six) of simple generating cells, such as that described in our 




EVERY BOY HIS OWX MANUFACTURER. 



151 



second chapter, have been provided, and that it is desired to obtain 
from them quantity, without increasing intensity, of electrical current. 
They must be placed in a row, and all the zinc plates must be coupled 
together by wires passing from one to the other. The same thing must 
be done with the copper plates, and then from tlie two end wires we 
shall get the quantity of six cells and the intensity of one (see fig. 14). 



/\ /\ 7\ / 




^ ^^ fc 




\Ml 



Fig. 14. 

If it is intensity, without quantity, that is required, wo must rcrerso 
this, and couple the zinc and copper plates together throughout the scries, 
as shown in fig. 15, and by this means we get the intensity of six pairs 
of plates, and the quantity of one. 

If we want to increase both qua: tity and intensity together, the matter 
is more complicated. We must place our cells in two rows (fig. IG), the 
zinc plates of the one row, and the copper plates of the other, facing 
outward, and connect the plates of each row as for intensity. Then 
connect the copper plate of No. 1 with the copper plate of No. 3 by a 
wire ; do the like with the zinc jjlates of Nos. 4 and C. Link these wires 
together by a third wire, «, so as to establish connection between the two 
rows. Then connect in the same manner the end x>ln.tes of the two rows 




Fro. i: 



facing outwards, and the linking wires h and c will bo the positive and 
negative electrodes to bo carried to the depositing trough. From theso 
wo obtain tlie quantity of tln-ce cells and tho intensity of three. It will 
thus be obvious that wiLii a sulTicient lunnber of cells, wo can rcgidato 
quantity and intensity at will. Thus, from 100 cells wo can cither obtain 
the quantity of 100 and tho intensity of 3, or the intensity of 100 and the 



152 



EVEFwY EOY HIS OWX MANUFACTURER. 



quantity of 1, or the quantity of 50 and the intensity of 50, or any inter- 
mediate degree between the tu'o extremes. 

Our friends will soon find out, in the pursuit of scientific recreation, 
bow useful is this power of controlling the force we are dealing with. 
They will soon discover, in feeling their way (as we hope they will do), 
to further investigation of the subject than can properly be treated in 
these papers, a great deal about the mysterious relationship that exists 
between electricity and the great family of metals and alloys ; how in 
some the impulses of kinship are strong, and how in others it requires a 
powerful effort to reach the hidden sources of sympathy. For instance, 
the useful and beautiful alloy, brass, if attacked in the ordinary way, 
would be impregnable to electrical assault ; but when a converging fire 
is directed against it from a battery of many cells, it is forced to succumb. 

It will add a little interest to our pastime to know, that each successive 
gtep of discovery has been fraught with consequences the most important 




Fig. 16. 

and stupendous to the world of commerce and the industrial arts. A 
page could be filled with the mere list of commodities that have found 
their w^ay into the market, adding to the conveniences of man, and finding 
employment for thousands of busy hands ; new sources of wealth, which 
owe their origin to the labors of scientific investigators in this new and 
fertile field. Among them may be mentioned the copying of engraved 
wood-blocks, by which means any number of impressions may be taken, 
the original woodcut remaining intact, and preserving its sharpness to 
the last ; the copying of set-up types instead of stereotyping — a process 
largely practiced in this country, and by means of which the page you 
iiow read is printed ; the coating of iron and steel goods with various 



EVERY BOY HIS OWN MANrFACTUKER. 153 

/netals to protect tbem from rust, etc., etc. Many tons of brass-headed 
nails — i.e., heads coated vrith brass — are produced annually by this 
process, superseding the old and expensive method of casting them on. 
Millions of steel pens are rendered practically safe from corrosion from 
ink or climate by being coated with brass, and upon that a thin wash of 
gold, which then appears with a surface of brilhant polish, and does not 
add to the cost more than ten cents a gross. The parts of fire-arms 
which sufier most from exposure to the weather, or from the corrosion of 
the discharge, can be eflectually protected by a durable coating of metallic 
nickel, which looks as well as silver, and will wear ten times as long. 
Many specimens were shown in the Vienna Exhibition. 

For involved and elaborate battery operations, such as we have yet to 
introduce our readers to, it will be desirable to set up a more perfect ap- 
paratus than the home-made one hitherto described. When interest in 
the pursuit is once fairly awakened, the expense of a complete set of 
generating cells and depositing vat, with proper binding screws and sus- 
pending rods, will not be considered. The cost is not great. It would 
be invidious to recommend any particular dealer in such articles, and it 
is not necessary. Long before the student has reached the stage where 
he feels the necessity for perfect tools, he will have found out for himself 
the best places whence to procure them. 

CHAPTER V. 

ELASTIC ilOULDS — COPYING BUSTS OR STATUETTES — TO PREPATvE TEE 

MOULD. 

Having practiced and repracticed the various simple forms of the clec- 
trotyper's art, such as have been described, until a perfect mastery has 
been acquired over the materials and conditions of success, the learner 
may venture to indulge himself with a plunge into its more recondite 
mysteries and difficulties. We will suppose that he has been content so 
far to take copies of coins, medals, or casts in hasso-rcleiro, and has not 
aspired to the dignity of being a producer of entire figures, busts, or works 
in detached relief, such as Cellini wrought with such loving fingers in the 
palmy days of art. But it is now time for him to take a higher fiight, and 
we are quite ready to introduce him, hoping that he has by this time ac- 
quired the requisite skill and confidence, into the inner and more inter- 
esting arcana of this beautiful pursuit. 

It must be clear that the moulds we have been using will only do for 
models that will leave, to use the casting pattern maker's technical phrase. 

Unless all the parts that are in relief slope gradually upwards fron^ 
the flat, either the mould or the cast will bo broken in coming away. 

In other words, there must be no undercuttings in the denign. r,ut 



154 EVERY BOY HIS OWX MATS^tTFACTtlKEE. 

copies are produced by electro-deposition^ of works so involved and so 
intricate in their undevcuttings^ that no combinations of moulds could be 
contrived to leave them with any hope of bringing out a passable copy. 

How then are such works produced ? Ah, dear reader, that was for a 
long time a most impenetrable puzzle and secret, but now it is common 
property^ and quite at your service. 

Invention's universal mother, Necessity, no doubt prompted the idea, 
that since the cast was inflexible, the matrix must be yielding and elas- 
tic. The problem then was to find a material that should take, and retain, 
all the sharp lines and impressions of the work to be copied, and yet be 
fio good-humored as to allow itself to be stretched, pulled about, and 
distorted in every possible way, always going back faithfully to the shape 
it took from the model. This material was at last found in some very 
simple substances, which are within the easy reach of every amateur. 

The material for an elastic mould can be compounded in the following 
simple way : — Take common glue, and let it soak in cold water for some 
hours. It will take up a quantity of water, and more must be supplied 
when necessary. It wiU then be like a soft jelly, yielding to the fingers, 
but not sticking to them. Then pour treacle upon it, working and 
kneading with the fingers or any convenient instrument, until the whole 
is of the consistency of a thick glutinous liquid. This is the unpromising- 
looking stuff with which we can take oft' the form and feature of the most 
elaborate carving that ever left an artist's chisel, or the daintiest statuette 
from a sculptor's atelier. It must be poured upon the object to be copied, 
which, if in the nature of a medallion or other work in aJto-relievo, must 
be fenced round in the manner formerly described (page 13S). Press the 
soft matter carefully into all the hollows, draining off the moisture which 
will squeeze out, until you feel sure that every part of the impression is 
well filled up, and then let a good body of the material lie on the top to 
settle down. After a few hours' exposure to the air, it will harden some- 
what, but now and again, if necessary, the moisture must be carefully 
drained from it. It will be easier to tell by the feel when it will be safe 
to pull it away ; the veriest tyro will not be likely to make a mistake, 
unless his impatience gets the better of his judgment. A sharp snatch 
will do It, but it is better to remove the fencing, and pull it away from 
the sides gradually, humoring it a little, as the complexities of the model 
may seem to require. 

The eminent electrician and chemist, Mr. George Gore, F. E. S., 
recommends the following mode of preparing the elastic composition: — 
Break the glue in small pieces, and soak it till quite soft. Then drain it, 
and heat it in a common glue-pot with the treacle, one part treacle to 
four of glue, to nearly the boiling point, stirring it well to ensure thorough 
mixture of the two substances. By the way, the glue will give some 



EVERT BOY HIS OWN MANUFACTURER. 155 

little trouble in the breaking, if you are not up to the carpenter's dodge 
for preventing it. Lay the cakes of glue between the folds of stiff brown 
paper, and hammer away at the paper ; elsewise, the brittle substance 
will fly about in all directions, and may be attack the face and eyes of the 
incautious operator. 

If we wish to get a copy of a plaster bust or statuette, we must proceed 
as follows: — Partly fill the hollow interior of the figure with sand, to 
make it heavy, and prevent its rising in the liquid ; then place it, base 
downwards, in an earthenware vessel, large enough, when filled with the 
liquid, to immerse it well all over. A vessel tapering towards the bottom 
is best, because of the composition leaving it when set — precisely as jelly 
turns out best from a tapered mould. The vessel should be well oiled in- 
side to facilitate this operation. The composition must be thin enough to 
flow ; Mr. Gore recommends that it be poured in hot, and also that the 
vessel be moved about a little, and the figure gently tapped during the 
pouring, to allow any air bubbles to escape. Cover the figure a few inches 
overhead, and then let all stand in a steady place to set, which will be ia 
from twelve to twenty hours, according to bulk. Then you will find that 
the mould, with the figure embedded in it, can without much difficulty 
be shaken out of the vessel, as a cook would turn out a pudding. The 
figure, if of plaster, must be saturated with oil (see page 138 for method), 
to prevent the melted composition adhering to it. 

"^.Old George III was mystified as to how the apple got into the 
dumphng. Our mystery is, not how the figure got into the mould, but 
how to get it out again. Nothing more easy, with a little adroit manipu- 
lation. We will suppose that a mark has been made on the base of the 
figure, by which it may be known which is the front and which is the 
back. Take a sharp knife, and slit up the mould right at the back of 
the figure, one clean and straight incision, beginning at the base and ex- 
tending upwards to the top of the mould, above the head- The mould 
will now open readily, by inserting the fingers on each side of the slit. 
Open it with care, and without unnecessary violence, extending the cut 
if requisite, and let some other hand take the figure out deftly while you 
hold the walls of the mould asunder .wide enough to let it pass. (See 
illustration, fig. 17.) The mould will now spring back again, and should 
return, if properly set before you operate upon it, so completely to its 
original shape, that the seam of the cut shall bo perfectly invisible to tho 
eye, and leave* no nuirk upon the ligurc you deposit. 

There is considerable difficulty in coating a mould of this description 
with the all-essential conducting material, as you will readily conceive. 
But wo are now arrived at that stage of our pursuit wlien nicety ot 
handling becomes a sine qua non, and we must not be frightened at diffi- 
culties. To become an expert and successful depositor wo must labor 



156 



EVEEY BOY HIS OWN MANUFACTUKBB. 




EVEEY BOY HIS OVX MAXUFACTUEEE. 157 

and acquire skill of hand, and be prepared to exercise the patience of a 
scientific devotee. The most scrupulous attention must be paid to 
minute points of detail, or otherwise time and trouble will be alike thrown 
away. In the first chapter, page 136, we gave some rough-and-ready 
instructions for black-leading the mould, which were all very well for a 
beginner who might be supposed to be anxious to get on; but he is de- 
veloping into an artist now, and must be much more elaborate in his 
preparations. We ask the reader to carefully study the following instruc- 
tions for prepariug moulds ; and shall begin with the simplest, a plain 
single-faced mould of a coin or medal. 

Paste a strip of paper round the edge of the mould ; take the best pow- 
dered black-lead you can get, and apply the same with a camel-hair 
brush, dry J to the face of the mould, breathing on it now and then, and 
blowing off the surplus. Proceed till the face is perfectly clean and 
bright. Then remove the paper, which has kept the black-lead within 
bounds, and will ensure you a deposit with a clean edge. Never mind 
the time it has taken — it will be well repaid. 

Elastic moulds require a difi'ereut treatment. If you can get at all the 
undercuttings, brushing them over with black-lead, or with the very best 
copper bronze, will do ; but the best way is to coat them with a series of 
solutions— viz., phosphorus, silver, and gold solutions, prepared according 
to the following recipe, given by Mr. Gore in his valuable work on 
'^ Electro-Deposition " : 

^^ Phosphorus Solution. — To make nearly three ounces, melt sixty-four 
gi*ains of beeswax or tallow ; then dissolve eight grains of india-rubber 
cut up very small, in 160 grains of bisulphide of carbon, and when it is 
dissolved add to it very carefully (as it is highly inflammable) the melted 
wax, and shake the mixture thoroughly ; then dissolve sixty-four grains 
of phosphorus in 960 grains (about two and a quarter ounces) of»bisulphido- 
of carbon, and add to it eighty grains of spirits of turpentine, and sixty- 
four grains of asphalte in fine powder ; when dissolved, add this solution 
to the previous one of india-rubber and wax, and thoroughly mix them 
by shaking. 

*' Silver Solution. — To make twenty ounces (one pint) : dissolve about 
eighteen or nineteen grains of pure silver in twenty or twenty-five grains 
of the strongest nitric acid, and then dilute it to the required volume witli 
distilled water. 

^' Gold Solutio7i. — To make twenty ounces : dissolve about five or six 
grains of pure gold in about twenty or twenty-five grains of a hot niixturo 
of one measure of nitric acid and two or three mcasun^s of hydrochloric 
acid, and when dissolved, dilute the solution with twenty ounces of di.s- 
tilled water." 

The mould may be rinsed with the first solution, or coated with it in 



lo8 



EVERT BOY HIS OWX MANUEACTFREE. 



any effective aud convenient way, and must afterwards be drained care- 
fully, and allowed to stand till perfectly dry. Then coat with the silver 
solution in the same way, till it acquires a black metallic lustre. Rinse 
with distilled water, and apply the gold solution in the same manner, 
which will give it a yellowish complexion. After another rinsing it is 
ready for use. Of course the student will know how to adapt the pro- 
portions given in the foregoing 
recipe to the quantity of the 
various solutions he may require 
to make. 

Another absolutely necessary 
preliminary is to affix guiding, 
wires in different parts of the 
mould, especially in the deep 
hollows, to tempt the electri- 
cally charged particles in this 
direction. No even deposit can 
be hoped for without these. It 
would be a pity, after all the 
trouble and expense incurred in 
producing a copy of a statuette 
or other work of art, to find 
daylight shining through it in 
some conspicuous place, or to 
feel some prominent fold doub- 
ling up under the slightest 
pressure for want of substance. 
For a large mould you must 
have a stout wire for a main 
conductor, and twist ti«ghtly 
round it a number ot short 
pieces of fine wire, the fine ends 
of which must be bent into all 
the hollows, and either stuck 
Tig. 18.— tke* cttt T^ A\ m '^ lightly and cleanly into the 

mould, or at least touch the parts required. There must be, in fact, a 
complete system of arteries to promote the circulation of the electric fluid 
into all parts of the anatomy of your figure. A glance at the accompa- 
nying illustration (Fig. 18), will convey better than a page of description, 
how this should be done. It will be well to have these wires all in 
position before coating the mould with the solution, because you will then 
have a conducting surface all alike, the wires being coated as well as the 




ETEPwT BOY HIS O^^TS MAXUFACTTEEK. 159 

mould. Even the simplest mould, such as that shown in our first chapter, 
page 135, will be the better for having a fine guiding wire passed round 
the rim of the impression, and sunk into it. It is scarcely necessary to say 
that all the guiding wires must be in perfect contact with the main con- 
ducting wire, so as to establish a complete sympathy between all parts 
of your electric system. 

In the next chapter we shall ofier to the incipient depositor an alter- 
native way, by which to obtain a copy of the statuette or other model — 
a more roundabout, but perhaps a more certain process. 

CHAPTER YI. 

THE SOLUBLE MOULD — A BETTER PLAX — A CAST IX PLASTER — A CAST 
IX WAX — TO PREPARE THE FIGURE — THE COPPER MOULD — DIVIDED 
MOULDS. 

The elastic mould described in our last chapter being made of a mate- 
rial soluble in water, has this great disadvantage, that if the copper de- 
posit be not formed upon it quickly, all the fine features of the impression 
will be blurred away while it is soaking in the sulphate solution. The 
young electrician might be tempted to hasten the process of deposition, 
by the means now at his command, viz., increasing the intensity of his 
battery power, but such a course would be on no account advisable. 
We have already stated that a deposit too quickly formed would very 
likely be no better than an agglomeration of grains of metallic sand ; and 
we have now, more than ever, need of a good, hard, malleable deposit to 
form the shell of our figure. Therefore we should advise all our friends to 
give themselves a little trouble, and pursue the following method, which 
is the alternative one we promised at the conclusion of the last paper. 

Bind up the closed mould with oiled brown paper, tied with tape or 
string. It will be useful also to place a few pieces of thin wood round 
it, under the string, to serve as props, and to enable you the more readily 
to move it about. Then cast a figure in it, in wax or plaster of Paris, 
according as the subject is large or small. For a largo figure, plaster of 
Paris will be preferable on the score of economy ; but wax makes tho 
best casting, and should always be used for small objects. We subjoin 
precise directions for both. 

To make a Cast in Plaster. — Procure tho finest plaster of Paris— sohl in 
powder, at any painters, very cheap. Into a basin of sufiicient capacity 
pour as much water as would, in your judgment, fill the cavity of your 
mould. Then take your packet of powder, and with one hand shako or 
sprinkle it into tho water, very gradually, while with tho other hand you 
stir up tho mixture till it is throughout of tho consistency of thick cream. 

It is now ready for use, and should bo used without delay. 



160 EVERY BOY HIS OWX MAXUFACTUKEE. 

Have your mould ready, and hold it iu a leaning direction while yon 
pour in the liquid, rolling or swilling it round as you do so. The principal 
thing to guard against is the retention of air bubbles in the cast: you must 
endeavor to let every i)article of air escape as you are pouring, before the 
plaster has time to set. Therefore, pour steadily but gently, and con- 
tinually roll the mould about — a little practice will enable j'ou to do it 
cleverly. Also, keep tapping or shaking the mould lightly, to ensure the 
plaster getting into all the crevices. 

When the cavity is quite full, let all stand till the plaster has set round 
the outside well, it being still liquid in the middle. 

You can pour this out now, and lighten your figure by making it 
hollow, as are the plaster figures you buy from an image vender. 

After a little while, you will be able to make your figures as light as 
his, as you get to know by practice the exact moment when the plaster 
is hard enough to form a good, sound shell. Let it stand in the mould 
for some hours after, to make sure, and then, having untied your band- 
ages, let some careful hand take out the cast, while you hold the mould 
open as before. If you are only moderately neat-handed and careful, 
the elastic mould will serve to take many casts from, in this way. 

The figure must be well dried before a fire, or in a moderate oven, 
before you do anything further with it. 

To make a Cast in Wax. — Melt white wax and resin, equal parts, in a 
ladle over the fire, adding a little suet, or, what is better, deer's fat, to 
the mixture. When all are well melted and mingled together, add a 
small quantity of white lead, and stir it well in. 

The whole should be allowed to set, and be re-melted two or three 
times, before being used for casting, in order to ensure that all the in- 
gredients are thoroughly blended together. The resin is wanted to 
harden the material, and make it retain a sharp impression, while the 
lead plays an important part in two ways : — it binds the other substances 
together, and prevents the cast from cracking while it sets ; and it also 
adds weight, which is useful when the figure comes to hang in the copper 
solution. You will see the importance, therefore, of being very careful 
with the mixing. Let the liquid boil well over the fire, and stir it about 
as long as there is the slightest effervescence. 

When it appears to be sufficiently well prepared, melt it again for the 
last time, and allow it to stand till it just begins to set, when pour it 
immediately into the mould, in the same manner, and with the same 
precautions as described for plaster. In this case, as the last, it is only 
practice that will enable you to judge precisely the moment for the ope- 
ration ; but you will soon acquire dexterity, if you are in earnest. If you 
pour in the wax too hot, you will destroy your mould ; if too cool, it will 
not take a good impression. Let it have plenty of time to set — seven 



EVEur BOY HIS c^rx ma2{ufactcrer. 



164 




riG. ID.— ABA ^r AWAKKXIXG. 



162 EVERY BOY HIS OWX MA2fUFACTURER. 

or eight hours iu a cool place — then open the mould, and remove the 
figure, as before. 

Of course you vill apprehend that these figures are not your depositing 
moulds, but only the objects from which moulds can be made. The 
method we recommend is that you should first deposit upon them, and 
that the deposits you obtain should serve as the matrices for future de- 
posits. We shall endeavor to make It clear to you how this can be done, 
but we must wam you that in some stages it will be a delicate and difii- 
cult operation* 

The next process is, however, easy. Cover the figure well with dry 
black-lead, in the manner formerly described, and fix conducting wires 
to it in several places^ to make sure of an even deposit all over the sur- 
face. You will find that the copper will have a tendency to gr6w on the 
promment narts, and leave the hollows bare, unless you prevent it by the 
artful arrangement of your guiding wires. The best way will be to form 
a sort of sling, or cage of wires, the ends hooking under the hollows of 
your figure^ in x)arts where a slight blemish will not be of much conse- 
quence cfig. 19). The wires need not enter; it will be sufficient if they 
are .merely m contact ; but you must be sure that every part of the sur- 
face has been made conducting with the black-lead. Paint over again 
the parts where the wires touch, also a small portion of the ends of the 
wires. 

You must allow this to«receive such a copper coating as will suffice to 
make a shell of sufficient rigidity to bear being handled, after the figure 
has been dissolved out of it. Yet it must not be too thick, for reasons 
which will hereafter appear. If it is the thickness of ordinary brown 
paper it will do. You will see the great importance of having an even 
deposit. If the copper seems to be attaching itself to some places and 
neglecting others, shift the position of your wires, or add others, twisting 
them round those which appear to be the best conductors. 

It will sometimes be quite sufficient to shift the position of the figure 
in the solution, or to turn it round. Careful watching, and readiness to 
see mischief, and to repair it with the dexterity which practice alone can 
give, will enable you to accomplish with perfect certainty this important 
stage of your work. 

When you have got the copper mould complete and sound, there are 
two things you may do with it. You may deposit a second figure within 
it, and destroy it ; or you may make it into a permanent mould, and de- 
posit any number of figures within it. If you decide to be contented 
with producing one object (much the safest decision for a beginner), the 
first thing you have to do is to get rid of the interior figure. Nip off 
the ends of your wires (this is better than pulling them away, as that is 
apt to tear the shell), and boil in a cauldron for some hours, changing 



EVEnY EOT niS OWN MAXrFACTUEEF.. 



163 



the water several times. This will melt out tbc wax, or dissolve the 
plaster, as the case may be. For a tolerably simple figure iu alto relievo^ 
such as fig. 20, when you can pretty well see into and reach all the cavi- 
ties from the back, this will be sufficient ; but for a figure like the sub- 
ject of our illustration fig. 19, '' Adam Awakening,'' it will be absolutely 
necessary to cut it into at least three or four pieces. 

We would not advise you, however, to begin with a complicated work 
like this, which we have only introduced to show more perfectly the 
method of slinging, etc. Should it be a figure the interior of which is 
not easily accessible in every part, you must divide it, for remember you 
have something else to do besides clearing it from the model, and that 
is, to coat it with black-lead; not now for conductivity, for the whole 

surface is eminently con- 
ducting, but to prevent 
your deposit from adher- 
ing to it ; in other words, 
plating it. You will per- 
haps be obliged to ob- 
tain the assistance of 
some practiced hand for 
this ; but if you are bold 
enough to essay the ope- 
ration yourself, get some- 
body to hold the figure 
firmly while you divide it 
w ith a fine saw in the line 
that you think will best 
answer your purpose ; 
then get out the wax or 
plaster in the manner 
described, and in the 
case of plaster, make all 
sure by rinsing the parts with a pretty strong wash of dilute nitric acid. 
Well dry the shells, and coat all the interior nicely with black-lerKl, and 
then, having arranged your arterial system of wires, close the parts again 
accurately at the cut, bind them tightly together with wire, immerse in 
the depositing solution, and connect with your battery, and leave Nature 
and Electricity to do the rest. 

The mould must remain in the solution till a good thick deposit has 
had time to form, when you will take it out, remove tlio binding wires, 
and, beginning at the separation, peel off the thin copper covering till 
the figure is left bare. Now is the critical moment. It will be very par- 
donable if you are nervous about the result of all vour care and trouble. 




i'lG. 1.1J. 



164 EVEllY BOY niS OW^- MAXUFACTUKEPw. 

If the figure comes out perfect and clean, the exultation of success will 
well repay all the pains you have bestowed. If, on the other hand, there 
should be an ugly gap here and there, or failure in any form disappoint 
your hopes, do not be discouraged, but endeavor to fathom the cause; 
and, deriving valuable lessons therefrom, try again and again, until every 
difficulty is overcome. 

Should you be desirous of retaining your mould as a permanent matrix 
for further operations, you must back it up, before removing the figure 
inside, with something that will make it solid. Wash over the outside 
with chloride of zinc, and then dip it several times in a bath of melted 
tin and lead. 

The alloy will adhere to the copper, and you must repeat the process 
untir you think it is strengthened enough. It must then be divided 
with the saw iiito as many pieces, and in such a way, as will enable its 
kernel; the figure, to come away without damaging any of its undercut 
parts. This will be exceedingly difficult with a cordplicated figure, but 
it is not impossible. Allthe plaster figures that we see exposed for sale, 
have been cast in moulds of many pieces joined together in the way we 
indicate. It is a very ingenious craft to fabricate these moulds, and not 
by any means to be mastered by the amateur at his first essay, but an 
amateur of the right spirit will not begin by attempting the highest walks 
of his art. Ton will not commence with such as Fig. 19, but Fig. 20 will 
be quite within your capacity. 

Some electrotypers prefer to deposit on the separate pieces of the 
mould, and afterwards to join the parts of the figure by soldering. 

This is, indeed, most usually the method adopted at all the large estab- 
lishments, where such work is professionally carried on. It has the great 
advantage of enabling the operator to see how the deposit is forming, 
and to regulate it when it is going wrong. But to join a figure neatly 
together, and ^'repair'' the junctures so that no blemish will be visible, 
requires the hand of a skilled artificer. 

The general advantages of this alternative method are these : — 
'You can easily repair your wax or plaster model, if it should be faulty, 
and make it like the original •. you can depend more certainly upon a 
good deposit on account of the better conductivity of the material ; you 
can better watch the process at every stage. We conclude with calling 
your attention to the following 

Precautions. — Paint or wash over the interior surface of your elastic 
mould with sweet-oil before casting in it the wax or plaster figure. Sat- 
urate your plaster figure with melted wax before exposing it to the acid 
of the copper solution. 

File off the "' burr" left by the saw on the inside of the cuts in your 
copper shell; otherwise it will make a very ugly mark on the deposit. 



EVERY BOY HIS OTVX MAX'UFACTUEER. 165 

Do DOt forget to stop off tke conductivity of your copper mould on the 
outside with varnish, or the deposit will run all over it. Any kind of 
resinous varnish will do. 

Have patience; and be careful. 

CHAPTER VII. 

ELECTRO DEPOSITS FROM XATURAL OBJECTS. 

Among other useful adjuncts to this art, we would advise the young 
electrotyper to provide himself with a jeweler's blow-pipe and pair of 
shears. The latter will be useful for nipping ofif the ends of connecting 
wires, and clipping the edges of his work into proper form ; the former 
will aid him in hacking up the thin copper shell of his deposit with solder, 
so as to make it more solid for mounting. Suppose a copy of a coin or 
medal has been obtained, it should be treated in the following way : — 
Wash over the reverse side with muriatic acid, in which a small portion 
of zinc has been dissolved ; then cut up pewter solder into small pieces, 
and lay them over the hollow surface. Place the medal, face downwards, 
on a piece of charcoal, and with the blow-pipe direct the flame of a lamp 
over the solder until it has run evenly into every part. You may now 
completely fill up the hollow with lead, and it will adhere to the solder. 

We shall conclude this series by initiating the reader into a very beau- 
tiful and fascinating branch of the art — viz., obtaining electro deposits 
from natural objects. 

Of all the available objects in the animal kingdom, perhaps the easiest 
to begin with is a fish. Lay him out nicely, and spread out his fins and 
tail, so as to make him look as natural as possible, then brush him over 
lightly with oil. Have some plaster of Paris mixed into the consistency 
of thick cream, and pour it on to a plato which has been well greased. 
Let it stand till it just begins to set into a paste, then lay the fish upon it 
on its side, pressing it gently down till it is half-way embedded. In a few 
minutes the plaster will have hardened sufficiently to allow you to pick 
out the fish from his bed, when you should find a perfect print of his 
profile in the place where he has lain. 

The edges of the mould nuist also be ficra[)cd and smoothed with a 
knife, where requisite, in order to make an even bed for the other half 
Avhich has yet to be cast. When this is done, and the plaster is (|uito 
firm, bore three or four shallow conical holes in the margin with the 
point of a knife, or anything, say two above the fish's back, and two 
underneath him ; then lay the lish carefiilly in his place again, and brush 
over the top half with oil a second time, to make all sure, and the j)laster 
with thin soai)Suds also, using a very soft brush. Have some licjuid 
plaster ready, and ])onr it. quickly over fisli jind mould togolhcr, not all 
in one place, but thinly and evenly all over, especially taking earn that 



166 EVERY BOY HIS OTTX MAXUFACTUEEK. 

tbc holes you have made are well filled up. It will require both dex- 
terity aud promptitude to do it well, as the plaster soon sets, and if you 
are not quick in going over the ground the second time, it will have be- 
come too hard to unite. It will be well to have an assistant standing by 
with a feather or a soft brush, in case any air-bubbles make their ap- 
pearance. If they do, he must instantly dissipate them, or they may 
make ugly tumors on the mould. Get a good body of plaster on, to make 
a solid mould, then let it rest till it is hard enough to lift up from the 
lower half, when the fish may be extracted again. Tour upper mould 
will have conical projections upon it, to fit the holes you have bored, and 
these will ensure its getting into the same position in which you cast it, 
each time it is put together. 

The moulds should be dried well — baked a little, even— before you use 
them^ and then, as before dkected, saturated with melted wax, dried 
and treated with plumbago, to conduct the deposit. The two halves of 
the fish should be deposited separately, and the surest way of attaching 
the conducting wires is as follows : — 

Drill a dozen or so of small holes round the outhne of the fish, on the 
flat part of the mould which surrounds it, as close as is practicable. In 
each of these insert a short piece of copper wire, and gather the ends 
together in a bunch, so as to tighten the wires in the holes sufficiently to 
bear the mould up, but not so much as to break the edges down into the 
print of the fish. These gathered ends may be attached to the main 
conducting wire, and all black-leaded well, at the junction especially, 
and round the holes. The main wire may extend into the centre of the 
fish's body, and a little hole may be drilled in the print to receive it, 
making, of course, a slight defect, which will afterwards have to be re- 
paired. In addition, pieces of thin wire may be twisted round the main 
or diverging conductors, and thin disengaged ends made to touch the 
print in various places, so that the deposit maV be attracted all over it, 
and a good shell be quickly formed. When the two halves of the fish 
have been thus obtained, the superfluous copper must be sheared ofif, 
and the edges neatly filed, so that a good joint may be made, and the 
always useful blow-pipe must then be called into requisition, to unite 
them with solder into a complete and apparently solid copy of the origi- 
nal. 

For most of the forms in Nature, however, an elastic mould will be the 
best. If the object can be suspended in a vessel while the elastic com- 
position is run round it, and if it be of such a nature as not to be liable to 
distortion while so doing, that will be the readiest way. It can then be 
treated in the same way precisely as that previously described for a 
plaster figure. But most natural substances require dainty handling 
and careful adjustment, therefore greater precautions are necessary, in 
order to preserve form. 



EVEKT BOY HIS OWX MA^fUFACTURER. 



ler 



Suppose you wanted to obtain a copy of a bird, with its wings out- 
spread, a group of dead game, etc., it would be difficult to retain them 



B 




in the position you desire without actually holding them. Tlio writer 
has found the following device answer very well for such a i)uri>ose : — 



X68 3!:yeky eoy nis own manufacturer. 

Take an earthenware vessel vitli a hole in the bottom — a common fiower- 
"potf for instance — and plug up the hole with, a cork, a i)iece of wood, or 
anything that can be easily removed. Hold the bird or other object with 
the lingers, as well as you can, in the position you wish to copy it, inside 
the vessel. Let an assistant pour down from above upon it a rain of very 
fine dry sand, which will run into all the crevices, and allow you to with- 
draw the fingers gradually as the lower parts of the figure become sup- 
ported by the sand. When it is buried, all but the head or so, withdraw 
the fingers altogether, and gently shake the sand down into a more solid 
mass. If you have done it cleverly, the object will be embedded in the 
sand in the exact position you require ; the problem is to keep it so. 
Level the sand by shaking or moderately pressing down, and begin to 
operate upon the small part of the object which is still left exposed. 
Brush it well over with oil to begin . with ; then bend a piece of thin 
sheet-iron, or anything of that sort, into a cylinder, large enough, in 
your judgment, to surround the object in its widest part, and leave plenty 
of room to spare. It may be tied round with thread or wire, to keep it 
in form. Stick this upright in the sand, having first greased the inside 
thoroughly. Pour into it, upon the head of your specimen, sufficient oi 
the melted elastic composition to cover the head, and a little more. 
Let it have plenty of time to set, then remove the cylinder (if it will not 
easily lift off, it must be untied), and leave the column of composition 
standing. Now the plug must be withdrawn from the bottom of the 
vessel, and a. little of the sand allowed to run out so as to leave exposed 
■a little more of the specimen, below the head, which is enclosed in the 
column of composition. Brush off every particle of sand that has ad- 
hered, treat with oil as before, replace the cylinder, and put all together 
in an oven, till the composition melts again, and runs down to enclose 
the part you have just left bare. Pour a httle more composition on the 
top, so as still to keep the head covered, and let it set again. Repeat 
this process till it will be safe to take the specimen out of the sand en- 
tirely, all being enclosed but the lower parts, which no longer require 
support. Then the whole afi"air may be turned upside down, the cylin- 
der again placed over the composition, and a last pouring will effectually 
enclose the whole figure, like a fly in amber. 

Getting the specimen out of the mould will often be found as difficult 
and tedious a process as getting^ it in. We can give no general directions 
as to a process which must necessarily vary with almost every article. 
We can only refer our readers to the previous instruction about removing 
plaster figures, arid-^=advise them to exercise their own ingenuity in the 
matter. The mould must be opened in several directions to suit some 
figures. For such purposes as these we would recommend that the 
lightest colored and best Russian glue be used, and mixed with the palest 



EVEar BOV HLS OWN MANUFACTL-PvER. 169 

treacle that can be procured ; the composition will then be transparent 
enough to give great assistance to the artist in discovering the position of 
his figure. Complicated figures will require to be deposited in parts, and 
the mould may be separated with that view. The same instructions will 
apply here as those given for the copying of plaster figures ; you may 
either deposit ui the mould direct, or follow the alternative process de- 
scribed in the last chapter, according to circumstances. 

Beautiful vegetable forms may be copied by a simpler method than 
this. For instance, a fern leaf may be taken, and laid face upwards 
upon a bed of soft plaster, not liquid enough to immerse it, but just suffi- 
ciently so to yield to its pressure, and allow it to become slightly em- 
bedded. Wlien the plaster is set, level and smoothen it by scraping 
with a sharp knife, place a fencing of cardboard or sheet -metal round 
the leaf, and pour upon it the wax composition formerly described, having 
first brushed or dusted the surface with fine black-lead. When this is 
set, it can be easily lifted ofi", and you will have a perfect wax mould of 
the face of the leaf, ia which you can deposit in the ordinary way. The 
metallic, copy can be bent or twisted about in any graceful form, and you 
may build up a plant or a group of leaves with a little taste, and the use 
of the soldering tools, which will form a very beautiful ornament for a 
sideboard. 



Part l.^/2fr/-2>'z^ Price 25 Cts. 

EVERY BOY 




Own 




CONTAINING INSTRUCTIONS IN 



'Qlas3 ^Plowing. 

WITH FULL DIRECTIONS HOW TO MAKE 



SteaiTi Engines, Locomotive Engines, Electric Telegraphs, 

Steam Boats, Dioramas, Clocks, Brackets, 

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A COLLECTION OF 

I S T C) R I K S , GJ- A M E S A IST O A M U S K M E N T S 

I 

For W^iiitei* Eveningrs. 

CO]SrXEjS^TS. 

THE EDITOR'S CHRISTMAS GREETING. (Illustrated.) 

FOUND IN A MUNIMENT CHEST. By the author of ''Lady Audley's Secret." 

THE DEATH'S-HEAD CLUB. A Legend of Savannah. 

CAROL. 

A MILLION A MINUTE. 

CARD TRICKS. (Five Illustrations. ) 

MODERN POPULAR CONJURING. '^ 

GAMES FOR THE LITTLE ONES. 

BLUE BEARD TABLEAU. (Three Illustrations.) 

AN ACTING DRAMA. 

THE BOOMERANG. (Illustrated. ) 

AMUSING EXPERIMENTS. 

THE MISTERY OF THE FLOATING HEAD. (Two Illustrations.) 

BOBBING AROUND ; or, The Gam'e of Families. 

LOST AND FOUND IN THE SNOW. 

PUZZLES, ENIGMAS, CHARADES. CONUNDRUMS, etc., etc. (Twenty-four illustrations. 

THE CHRISTMAS TREE. (Illustrated.) Etc., etc., etc. 

Complete in One Volume, Paper Covers. Price 10 Cents. 



BEAR IN MIND 

That orders will be received for any Books, Maga2dnes, Games, etc., etc., issued or for sale by any 
respectable house in the United States, at the regular prices. All books, etc. , that can be sent by 
mail will be'sent free of postage, and all articles that are too bulky or weighty for the mail will be 
sent by express, the freight to be paid by the party sending the order. All orders will be filled and 
the goods forwarded within twenty-four hours after the receipt of the order, except in cases where 
the articles wanted are not to be had in this city. 

We also wish to say a word to our customers about goods sent by mail. Having had an ex- 
perience of many years, we think we understand this business. We are very particularin our man- 
ner of attending to it, sending all packages well wrapped, securely sealed "and plainly addressed. 
One would think that all goods ordered would reach their destination without trouble . So tliev 
would, if our customers were as careful to attend properly to their part of the business as ice are to 
attend to ours. In ordering goods it is necessary to make a point of three things. First: to write 
plainly. Second : to give the name of the article w^anted, and Thibd : to write out your full address, 
name, town, county and State. It is astonishing how many persons are careless about these things. 
Many write so badly that, with all our long experience, it is almost impossible to make out their 
meaning. Quite often a man words his order in this style : " Please send me your books by return 
mail." Now how are we to know what he wants out of the scores of books we ha^-e for sale .' 
Sometimes a man forgets to sign his name, and very often people omit their town, State, ard the 
annoying part is, that when these persons fail to receive their order they blame as. John Smith, 
for instance, says "Send these books to Salem without delay." Now^ there are twenty-three Post of- 
fices in the United States by that name. How are we to know which particular Salem is John 
Smith's home ? We can do nothing but wait for him to write again, which he does in a few days, 
enquiring "why his books are not come," and makes the same omission. Of course John Smith 
does not get either his books or an answer to his letter, finds fault with us in consequence, for his 
own negligence, and accuses us of being swindlers. We must remind our customers again that to 
insure the speedy and safe delivery of their orders, it is absolutely necessary that they write plainly, 
and never forget to give the name of the article wanted, their own name, and that of their Post 
Office, County and State. 



THE BOOK OF WONDERS, 

MYSTERIES AXD DISCLOSURES ; 

A Complete Hand-book of I'seful luroriuation ; 



n? full and explicit directions for making Hair Oils, E,estoratives, Hair Dyes, Perfumery, Toilet Articles, Cosme- 
if all kinds, Plain and Fancy Soaps, Tooth Powders, Flavoring Extracts and Essences, Patent Medicines, Inks of 

kinds, Beverages for Families, Fairs and Pic-Xics, Remedies against all kinds of Vermin, and a large number of 
• es for the manufacture of valuable articles of every day use, which can be disposed of at a good profit, making 
'•■ction of recipes of great value to M:inufacturers, Storekeepers, Druggists, Peddlers and Families generally. 
is book shows how the homely may be made handsome and the ignorant wise. It explains in a distinct manner, 
rehensible to all, how the personal appearance of everybody, favored or otherwise by nature, can be made 
niing, fascinating and the envy of the public. It gives also plans by which thousands of the old and young of 
-exes can find employment and gain riches. It is a compendium of the most useful information ever collected 
:iier for the benefit of the married and single ; showing how distresses of every character (physical and mental) 

•,• he prevented, or (if existing), be obliterated, and is replete with wisdom and entertainment for all. Among the 

itents of this valuable work may be found 



The Hunter's Secret. 

Foxes, Mink, Musk Rats, Beavers, 



How 



to Catcli 
&■•. How to make 
the ceiebi-ated BEAVER MEDICINE. Chinese art of 
Catching Fish alive, \-c. 

The Liquor Dealer's Guide, Tells how 

to make all kinds of I.iciuors at very little expense, and 
HOW TO MAKE THE CELEBRATED WESTERN 
CIDER, without apples or any other fruit. 

The Ladies' G-uide to Beauty, Tell- 
ing how Ladies can become and remain beautiful. Hntv 
to make ail kinds of Rouges, Powders, Pastes, Cologm-s, 
Salts, Oils, &:c. ; besides other information of much 
value to Ladies. 

G-amblers' Tricks Explained ; also, of Pe- 
ter Funks, Pickpockets, Pocket-Book Droppers, &c. 

The Secret of Horse Taming ; Also, 

how to make Liniments, Lotions, <kc., for Horses. 

The Hair and Whiskers * To promote 

the Growth of the Hair. To Make Lyons', Wood's, 
Barry's. Bogle's, Jayne's, Storr's. Baker's, Driscol's, 
Phalon's, Albus', Spaiildinp'sand other Hair Restf>ierj 
andlnvigorators. To (^ure Baldness. To make the Hair 
Soft and Glossy. To make Poudre Subtile fur Remov- 
ing the Hair. To make Chinese Depilatory for Remov- 
ing Superfluous Hair. To make Instantaneous Hair 
Dye. Directions for Dy«'inc: the Hair. To make the 
celebrated GRAHAM ONCjUENT, for forcing the 
Whiskers and Mustache to grow in six weeks. To 
make the Hair Curl, Ac, ic, iic. 

Curious Facts about "Water. 

Sleep — Its Importance. 

Business Rules for Young Men. 

How to Tell a Lady: ^i^^^« f>f <''l>'ir- 

acter. etc. 



Put a pin here.' 



Marrying for ShoT^. 

Good swains and lovers. 

Signs of Love. Everybody should read 
these enumerations of the signs of the "tender pas- 
sion. 'i 

Things "Worth Knowing. This depart- 
ment contains over 400 Recipes, t. lling how to make 
Ayer's Cheny Pectoral, Brandieth's Pills, Certain 
Cure for Drunkenness, Essences, Extracts, &c. Face 
Paints, Go.lfiey's Cordial, Inks of all kinds, &c. 
Ointments of all kinds, Pomades of all kinds. Rev. A. 
Wilson's Great Remedy for Consumption, Asthma, 
Bronchitis, &c. Salvos of all kinds. Soaps of all kinds, 
Swaim's Vermifuge. How to Transfer Engravings to 
Plaster Cuss. 11 ow to Transfer Ensravings, Photo- 
graphs, Lithographs, AVood Cuts, "Writing, in fact 
anythinsr, to Giass. How to Clean Kid Gloves. To 
make Imitation Gold i.nd Silver. To make Artificial 
Honey. How to make Imitation Diamonds, Rubies, 
Emeralds, Topaz and other Precious Stones. The Art 
of Potchi(tmoui explained, «S:c. 

Superstitions ; or Signs, Wonders and To- 
kens. Their signification and meaning. 

BashfulneSS. its Causes. Some never 
Bashful. Prevention and Cure. An example. The 

way not to do it. 

Recipes for making Es.seuccs. Extracts, Face 
Paints, Inks, Ointments, Pomades, Salves, Soaps, A:c. 

Traps and Trapping. Being practical 

and reliable information abovit making and using 
Traps, Snares. Nets, Baits, kc, kr. With uumenMis 
HluHtrations. 

Taxidermy, a i)racti(:il guide to prci)ar. 
ing, i)r. "serving, wtuffing and mountiug Birds. With 

illustrations. 



Besides ii vast amount of information of importaucf to cvt iyl)ody, 

OLD AND YOUNG, MALE AND FEMALE, MARRIED AND SINGLE. 



I^R,iaE T^^^TElsTT^S^-I^I'VE OEl>TTS. 



Sent to any inldrrsn, poutaf^c paid, on retrlpt of the price. 



Seiid Orders to 



HAPPY HOURS COMPANY, 

NO. 1 CHAMBERS STREET. NEW YORK 



EVERYBODY'S FEIEND; 



OK, 



The Universal Hand-Booke 



This Book ^will give you correct information on every 
possible subject that yon ever heard or thought of, or anything you 
want to know or do, this book will tell you all about it. 



CO^TEI^TS: 



Anecdotes, Conundrums, &c. 

Ants, to get rid of, 

Asleep, how to fall, 

Bandoline for the Hair, to make, 

Barometer, how to make a truthful, 

Bed Clothes, 

Bitters, how made, 

Blackberry Cordial, to make, 

Boards, to remove grease from, 

Brother Jonathan, origin of. 

Butter, new mode of preparing and 

preserving, 
Card Charm, 

Carpets, to restore color to, 
Cement for Paper, 
Cherry Bounce, how made, 
China, Cement to mend broken, 
Churning, 

Cleanliness, Advantages of, 
Cologne Water, to make superior, 
Coloring for Liquors, to make. 
Corn, to preserve from Birds & "Worms 
Counterfeit Money, how to detect, 
Delicious Candy, a, 
Earache, to cure the worst, 
Everton Taffy, to make, 
Ej^es, to prevent the light injuring the 
Eact, a Curious, 
Eilth, reproductive power of, 
Flannels, to make keep color and 

prevent shrinking. 
Gamblers' Tricks with Cards, Dice,&c. 
Gilding, to Preserve and Clean, 
Glue, to make liquid, 
Gold, how to make. 
Gold and Silver Coin, to tell spurious, 
Grease Spots, to remove, 
Green Corn Patties, to make, 
Hair, to Dye the, 

Recipes for Curling, 

To promote Growth of the 

Brushes, to Clean, 

II.'Hid, the most Beautiful, 

Hard to Satisfy, 

Hens, to make" them laj'. 

Historical Facts, 

Horse Taming, Rarey's Theory, 

House Paint, to make economical 

White, [beautiful. 

How Ladies can become and continue 
House Plants, best Fertilizer for, 
How Men should treat Women, 
Husband, to find out whom one is *o 

have for a. 



Ink, to prevent moulding, 

Stains, to remove from linen. 

Iron Moulds, to take out of linen, 

John Jacob Astor, how he made his 
money. 

Kissing, Josh Billings on. 

Liquid Rouge for the Complexion, 
how made. 

Liquor Dealer's Guide, tells how to 
make Brandy, Holland Gin, Jamai- 
ca Rum, Irish or Scotch Whisky, 
Monongahela Whisky, Old Bour- 
bon Whisky, Peach Brandy, Pine- 
apple Rum*, Madeira Wine, Sherry 
Wine, Port Wine, Claret, Raspberry 
Wine, Currant Wine, Cider, Goose- 
berry, Cherry, Elderberry, Straw- 
berry, Mttlberry, Apple, Grape, 
Apricot, Damson, and Whortleber- 
ry Wme, 

Marry, for a girl to ascertain if she'll 
soon. 

Mattresses, Cotton, 

Maxims, 12 Golden, on Dress, Con- 
versation, Bearing Adversity, An- 
ger, Secret Enemies, Law and Phys- 
ic, Inconstancy, Charity Allegor- 
ized, Diet and Regimen, How to use 
Prosperity, Believing and Commu- 
nicating News, Conduct towards a 
Friend, 

Mildew, to take out. 

Mosquitoes, to drive away. 

Moths, to guard against, ' 

Oil of Pwoses, for the Hair, 

Paint, to Clean, 

Parlor Magician, The, tells How to 
Cut off your Nose ; To Produce a 
i^>touse from a Pack of Cards ; To 
Mal'.e a Card jump out of the Pack 
and be seeu upon the table ; How to 
Pat an Bgy in a Bottle ; To Prepare 
a Fountiin of Fire ; A Card found 
out by tho point of a Sword ; The 
Conjuror's Trick ; How to Eat Tow 
and set it on Fire in j'our Hand; 
Houdin's Celebrated Nut Trick ; To 
t ike Feathers out of an Empty 
Handkerchief; How to change a 
Pack of Cards into all manuer of 
Pictures ; To change a Card which 
is in the hand of a person ; To make 
a Card pass from one hand into the 
other ; The Rope Tying Feat ; How 



to Cut a Man's Head off and put it 
in a platter a yard from his body. 

Parlor Theatricals, how to get up 
Plays, Charades, Tableaux, «fec. 

Patent Safe Game, how Played, 

Pearl Powder for the Coraplexion, 
how to make. 

Pearl Water for the Complexion, to 
! make, 

i Perfumes, Geography of, 
' Peter Funks Exposed, 

Pocket Book Droppers, Tricks of, 

Poetical Quotations, 

Potatoes, to prevent Rot in, 

Poultry and Eggs, 

Prophecy, a Remarkable, 
; Proverbs of all Nations, 
I Putrefaction, to Retard, 
! Rain, the Drops in a Shower of, 

I What is an inch of, 

I Rat Trap, a Cheap and Eflacient, 
I Rose Water, to make. 

Salutations of all Nations, 
! Shirt Bosoms, to make Glossy, 

Sighs of Love, how made, 
; Signification, or Language of Flowers, 
; Silk, to make old look like new. 

Sleepless Nights, to avoid, 
; Sponges, to preserve, 
I Smelling Salts, to make, 
j Steel, to remove rust from, 

I or Iron, to prevent articles of 

I from rusting, 

Summer Drink, to make. 

Table Linen, to take Stains out of, 
I Tea, Beneficial Influence of, 
I Tea Kettle, to remove the Fur in a, 
I Teeth, to make White, 
; Temper and Disposition of any person, 
\ to know the, 
; Timber, to preserve, 
! Tomato Catsup, to make, 
j Tooth Powder, to make a fine, 
1 Vinegar, to make, 
I Vinegar Rouge, to make, 
: Warts, to destroy, 
i Washerwoman, Useful Information 
I for, 

I AVashing Clothes, new Mixture used 
I in, 

j AVhiskers or Moustache, to make grow 
; Whooping Cough, to Cure, 
, Western "Cider, how made without 
Apples or other Fruit, 



_ 



Sent post-paid on Receipt o±' tlie Pa-ice. 
SendonJersto ^ HAPPY HOURS COMPANY. 

NO. 1 CHAMBERS STREET. NEW YORK 



Part II. ^H.i^-fi- 



Price 25 Cts. 



0^%^^ism 




RY BOY 




ff 




i yw 





.M, 



CONTAINING INSTRUCTIONS IN 



<^LA3g !Px.owiNq, 

WITH FULL DIRECTIONS HOW TO MAKE 



Steam Engines, Locomotive Engines, Electric Telegraphs, 

Steam Boats, Dioramas, Clocks, Brackets, 

Telescopes, Etc., Etc. 



<v) 



Pf^OI^U^S^I^Y lT,I,t;^¥f{.^^^f). 



N E w York : 

HAPPY II O U K S C O M P A N Y, 
No. 1 Chambers Stbeet. 



Entered according to Act of Conpreps, in the year 1873, by Happy Houbs Co.. in the Office ot tlu" Librarian 

of Congress, at Washington. 



MANUAL OF MYSTICAL MYSTERIES, 



WQ)W ih@ PmrlQ}r,j 



WITH NUMEROTJS ILLUSTRATIVE DIAGRAMS. 
»-<>-• 

If, as BuTLEK insinuates, 

"The pleasure is as great 
of being cheated as to cheat," 

tlie life of a Prestidigitator must be a pleasant one ; and to enable any one to realize 
the fact, we, in this volume, present the key to the "Mystical Mysteries," whereby 
any boy, of an ingenious turn of mind, can amuse and astound his friends, school- 
fellows and neighbors. 

Annexed we give a list of a 

PORTION OF THE CONTENTS. 
Magic Plums, Self Balancing, 

Sea of Ink, Chameleon Trick, 

Vanishing Seed, Arah in the Air, 

Magic Candles, E-ope Trick, 

New Ribbon Manufactory, Changing Fruit, 

Magic Telegraph, Enchanted Coin, 

Tricks with Eggs, Mystic Tea Caddies, 

Invisible Courier, Japanese Butterflies, 

Iron Hand, Erratic Knaves, 

Flying Knife, Etc., Etc., Etc. 

Price 30 Oents. 



T3:Ji^l<TlD BOOIC 




wato:^' 



Being- a Systematic Coxapendium of the necessary Kules for attaining: Proficiency 
in Reading- and Speaking-. With copious and interesting examples. 

This treatise on Elocution and Oratory has been prepared with a strict regard to 
practical utility, by a favorite tragedienne of the stage. By attention to its rules the 
learner may rapidly acquire the art of reading aloud with due emphasis, and of 
expressing himself in a set speech, or a recitation, with propriety. Though chiefly 
designed for social purposes, it will also prove a safe guide for those who wish to 
establish a well founded professional reputation, either as readers, speakers, or actors. 

CONTENTS. 



Public Reading. 
After Dinner Speeches. 
Funeral Orations. 



P^U^T FIRST. 

Preliminary Remarks on the Leading Principles of Elocution, 
PAKT SE:0O]Vr>.— IJeadiiie:. 

Family Reading. 

Table Oratory. 

Wedding Breakfast Speeches. 

Verse. 

P^R^T THIXiO.— ElooTitioix. 

The Bar. Parliamentary. 

The Pulpit. The Lecture Desk. 

The Stage. Conclusion. The Platform. 

Price 30 Cents. 



1_ 



Either of the above will be sent by mail, postpaid, on receipt of the price. 

HAPPY HOURS COMPANY, Publishers, 

No. I Chambers Street, New York. 



THE BOOK OF WONDERS, 

MYSTERIES AND DISCLOSURES ; 

A Complete Hand-book of Userol Information^ 

Giving full and expUcit directions for making Hair Oils, Restoratives, Hair Dyes, Perfumery, Toilet Articles, Cosme- 
tics of all kinds. Plain and Fancy Soaps, Tooth Powders, Flavoring Extracts and Essences, Patent Medicines, Inks of 
all kinds. Beverages for Families, Fairs and Pic-Xics, Remedies against all kinds of Vermin, and a large number of 
Recipes for the manufacture of valuable articles of every day use, which can be disposed of at a good profit, making 
a collection of recipes of great value to Manufacturers, Storekeepers, Druggists, Peddlers and Families generally. 

This book shows how the homely may be made handsome and the ignorant wise. It explains in a distinct manner, 
comprehensible to all, how the personal appearance of everybody, favored or otherwise by nature, can be made 
charming, fascinating and the envy of the public. It gives also plans by which thousands of the old and young of 
both sexes can find employment and gain riches. It is a compendium of the most useful information ever collected 
together for the benefit of the married and single ; showing how distresses of every character (physical and mental) 
may be prevented, or (if existing), be obliterated, and is replete with wisdom and entertainment for all. Among the 
contents of this valuable work may be found 



The Hunter's Secret. How to Catch 

Foxes, Mink, Musk Rats, Beavers, &c. How to make 
the celebrated BEAVER MEDICINE. Chinese art of 
Catching Fish alive, &c. 

The Liquor Dealer's Guide, Tells how 

to make all kinds of Liquors at very little expense, and 
HOW TO MAKE THE CELEBRATED WESTERN 
CIDER, without apples or any other fruit. 

The Ladies' Guide to Beauty, TeU- 

ing how Ladies can become and remain beautiful. How 
to make all kinds of Rouges, Powders, Pastes, Colognes, 
Salts, Oils, &c. ; besides other information of much 
value to Ladies. 

Gamblers' Tricks Explained ; also, of Pe- 
ter Funks, Pickpockets, Pocket-Book Droppers, &c. 

The Secret of Horse Taming ; Also, 

how to make Liniments, Lotions, <kc., for Horses. 

The Hair and Whiskers * To promote 

the Growth of the Hair. To Make Lyons', Wood's, 
Barry's, Botjle's, Jayne's, Btorr's, Baker's, Driscol's, 
Phalon's, Albus', SpauMinp'sand other Hair Restorerj 
andlnvitrorators. To Cure Baldness. To make the Hair 
Soft and Glossy. To make Poudre Subtile fur Remov- 
ing the Hair. To make Chinese Depilatory for Remov- 
ing Superfluous Hair. To make Instantaneous Hair 
Dve. l)irei;tion8 for Dyi-jng the Hair. To make the 
fcl.bratvd GRAHAM ON(JUEXT, for forcing the 
Whiskrrs and Mustache to grow in six weeks. To 
make the Hair Curl, dec., dec, &c. 

Curious Facts about Water. 

Sleep — Its iMPORTANfE- 

Business Rules for Young Men. 
How to Tell a Lady: SignH of cimr- 

after, etc. 



Marrying for Show. "P'lt a pin here." 

Good swains and lovers. 

Signs of Love. Everybody shoTild read 
these enumerations of the signs of the " tender pas- 
sion." 

Things Worth Knowing. This depart- 
ment contains over 400 Recipes, telling how to make 
Ayer's Cherry Pectoral, Brandreth's Pills, Certain 
Cure for Drunkenness, Essences, Extracts, &c. Face 
Paints, Godfrey's Cordial, Inks of all kinds, &c. 
Ointments of all kinds, Pomades of all kinds, Rev. A. 
Wilson's Great Remedy for Consumption, Asthma, 
Bronchitis, &c. Salves of all kinds, Soaps of all kinds, 
Swaim's Vermifuge. How to Transfer Engravings to 
Plaster Casts, llow to Transfer Encravings, Photo- 
graphs, Lithographs, Wood Cuts, Writing, in fact 
anything, to Glass. How to Clean Kid Gloves. To 
make Imitation Gold and Silver. To make Artificial 
Honey. How to make Imitation Diamonds, Ihibies, 
Emeralds, Topaz ami other Precious Stones. The Art 
of Potchiomoni explained, &c. 

Superstitions ; or Signs, Wonders and To- 
kens. Their signification and meaning. 

Bashfulness. Its Causes. Some never 
Bashful. Prevention and Cure. An example. The 
way not to do it. 

R-ecipes for makiTi^' EKsences, Extrapts, Fare 
Paints, Inks, Ointments, Pomades, Salves, Soaps, kc. 

Traps and Trapping. Being practical 

and reliable information about making and using 
Traps. Snares, N«'tn, Baits, kc, kr. With uumen)UH 
Illustrations. 

Taxidermy. A practical guide to prej)ar 

ing, p^eKer^^ng, stufllng and mounting Birdu. With 
illuHtratiouH. 



Besides a vast amount of inf(trmation of importance to evj^rybody, 

OLD AND YOUNG, MALE AND FEMALE, MARRIED AND SINGLE. 



I^E,IOE T^^TT^ElsTT^y-FI'V^E OEI>TTS. 



Sent to any artdrcHU, postaf^c paid, on rer«>lpt of the prire. 



HAPPY HOURS COMPANY, Publishers, 

No. I Chambers Street, New York. 



EVEEYBODY'S FRIEND; 



OR, 



The Universal Hand-Booko 



This Book will give yon correct information on every 

possible subject that you ever heard or thought of, or anything you 
want to know or do, this book will tell you all about it. 



CO ISTTENTS 



Anecdotes, Conundrunas, &c. 

Ants, to get rid of, 

Asleep, how to fall. 

Bandoline for the Hair, to make. 

Barometer, how to make a truthful. 

Bed Clothes, 

Bitters, how made. 

Blackberry Cordial, to make, 

Boards, to remove grease from. 

Brother Jonathan, origin of, 

Butter, new mode of preparing and 

preserving. 
Card Charm, 

Carpets, to restore color to. 
Cement for Paper, 
Cherry Bounce, how made, 
China, Cement to mend broken, 
Churning, 

Cleanliness, Advantages of, 
Cologne Water, to make superior, 
Coloring for Liquors, to make. 
Corn, to preserve from Birds & Worms 
Counterfeit Money, how to detect, 
Delicious Candy, a. 
Earache, to cure the worst, 
Everton Taffy, to make, 
Eyes, to prevent the light injuring the 
Pact, a Curious, 
Filth, reproductive power of, 
Flannels, to make keep color and 

prevent shrinking. 
Gamblers' Tricks with Cards, Dice,&c. 
Gilding, to Preserve and Clean, 
Glue, to make liquid, 
Gold, how to make, 
Gold and Silver Coin, to tell spurious, 
Grease Spots, to remove. 
Green Corn Patties, to make, 
Hair, to Dye the, 

Recipes for Curling, 

To promote Growth of the 

Brushes, to Clean, 

Haaid, the most Beautiful, 

Hard to Satisfy, 

Hens, to make them lay, 

Historical Pacts, 

Horse Taming, Rarey's Theory, 

House Paint, to make economical 

White, [beautiful. 

How Ladies can become and continue 
House Plants, best Fertilizer for, 
How Men should treat Women, 
Husband, to find out whom one is *o 

have for a. 



Ink, to prevent moulding, 

Stains, to remove from linen, 

Iron Moulds, to take out of linen, 

John Jacob Astor, how he made his 
money. 

Kissing, Josh Billings on. 

Liquid Rouge for the Complexion, 
how made. 

Liquor Dealer's Guide, tells how to 
make Brandy, Holland Gin, Jamai- 
ca Rum, Irish or Scotch Whisky, 
Monongahela Whisky, Old Bour- 
bon Whisky, Peach Brandy, Pine- 
apple Rum, Madeira Wine, Sherry 
Wine, Port Wine, Claret, Raspberry 
Wine, Currant Wine, Cider, Goose- 
berry, Cherry, Elderberry, Straw- 
berry, Mulberry, Apple, Grape, 
Apricot, Damson, and Whortleber- 
ry Wme. 

Marry, for a girl to ascertain if she'll 
soon. 

Mattresses, Cotton, 

Maxims, 12 Golden, on Dress, Con- 
versation, Bearing Adversity, An- 
ger, Secret Enemies, Law and Phys- 
ic, Inconstancy, Charity Allegor- 
ized, Diet and Regimen, How to use 
Prosperity, Believing and Commu- 
nicating News, Conduct towards a 
Friend, 

Mildew, to take out. 

Mosquitoes, to drive away. 

Moths, to guard against, " 

Oil of Roses, for the Hair, 

Paint, to Clean, 

Parlor Magician, The, tells How to 
Cut off your Nose ; To Produce a 
Mouse from a Pack of Cards ; To 
Mahe a Card jump out of the Pack 
and be seen upon the table ; How to 
Put an Egg- in a Bottle ; To Prepare 
a Fountain of Fire ; A Card found 
out by the point of a Sword ; The 
Conjuror's Trick ; How to Eat Tow 
and set it on Fire in your Hand; 
Houdin's Celebrated Nut Trick ; To 
tike Feathers out of an Empty 
Handkerchief; How to change a 
Pack of Cards into all manner of 
Pictures ; To change a Card which 
is in the hand of a person ; To make 
a Card pass from one hand into the 
other ; The Rope Tying Feat ; How 



to Cut a Man's Head off and put it 

in a platter a yard from his body. 
Parlor Theatricals, how to get up 

Plays, Charades, Tableaux, fcc. 
Patent Safe Game, how Played, 
Pearl Powder for the Complexion, 

how to make. 
Pearl Water for the Complexion, to 

make. 
Perfumes, Geography of, 
Peter Funks Exposed, 
Pocket Book Droppers, Tricks of, 
Poetical Quotations, 
Potatoes, to prevent Rot in, 
Poultry and Eggs, 
Prophecy, a Remarkable, 
Proverbs of all Nations, 
Putrefaction, to Retard, 
Rain, the Drops in a Shower of, 

What is an inch of. 

Rat Trap, a Cheap and Efficient, 

Rose Water, to make. 

Salutations of all Nations, 

Shirt Bosoms, to make Glossy, 

Sighs of Love, how made. 

Signification, or Language of Flowers, 

Silk, to make old look like new. 

Sleepless Nights, to avoid. 

Sponges, to preserve. 

Smelling Salts, to : 

Steel, to remove rust from, 

or Iron, to prevent articles of 

from rusting, 
Summer Drink, to make, 
Table Linen, to take Stains out of. 
Tea, Beneficial Influence of, 
'I'ea Kettle, to remove the Fur in a. 
Teeth, to make White, 
Temper and Disposition of any person, 

to know the, 
Timber, to preserve. 
Tomato Catsup, to make, 
Tooth Powder, to make a fine. 
Vinegar, to make. 
Vinegar Rouge, to make, 
Warts, to destroy. 
Washerwoman, Useful Information 

for, 
Washing Clothes, new Mixture used 

in, 
Whiskers or Moustache, to make grow 
Whooping Cough, to Cure, 
Western Cider, how made without 

Apples or other Fruit, 



Sent post-paid, on Receipt of the I^ice. 

HAPPY HOUPS COMPAXr, 

No. 1 Chambers Street, New York. 



Part III. 



^.bS^-J\(,. 



Price 25 Cts. 




^ 



VERY BOY 



ff 





^^ni 




III/ 





-nififi 



CONTAINING INSTRUCTIONS IN 



<^LA3g ^X^OWINQ, 

WITH FULL DIRECTIONS HOW TO MAKE 



Steam Engines, Loconiotive Engines, Electric Telegraphs, 

Steam Boats, Dioramas, Clocks, Brackets, 

Telescopes, Etc., Etc. 



f>?vO*'tj'^3^I.Y II<I,li^¥5^.a¥i^f). 



N K w Y o \\ K : 

HAPPY II O U 11 S C M P A N Y. 
No. 1 Chamdkrs Stheet. 



ntered, according to Act of Congrees, in the year 1873, by Haity H<ji;kh Co., in the Ofticr of tlu- Librarian of 

CongresB, at Wanhiugton. 



iimwlffi 




A MANUAL OF MYSTICAL MYSTERIES, 

WITH NUMEROUS ILLUSTRATIVE DIAGRAMS. 
*"*~® 

If, as Btjtlek insinuates, 

' ' The pleasure is as great 
of being cheated as to cheat," 

tlie life of a Prestidigitator must be a pleasant one ; and to enable any one to realize 
the fact, we, in this volume, present the key to the "Mj^stical Mysteries," whereby 
any boy, of an ingenious turn of mind, can amuse and astound his friends, school- 
fellows and neighbors. 

Annexed we give a list of a 

PORTION OF THE CONTENTS. 
Magic Plums, Self Balancing," 

Sea of Ink, Chameleon Trick, 

Vanishing Seed, Arab in the Air, 

Magic Candles, Rope Trick, 

New Ribbon Manufactory, Changing Fruit, 

Magic Telegraph, Enchanted Coin, 

Tricks with Eggs, Mystic Tea Caddies, 

Invisible Courier, Japanese Butterflies, 

Iron Hand, Erratic Knaves, 

Flying Knife, Etc., Etc., Etc. 

r*rice 30 Oents. 



njLisrx) book: 




Being- a Systematic Corapendiuin of the necessary Rules for attaining- Proficiency 
in Reading- and Speaking. With copious and interesting examples. 

This treatise on Elocution and Oratory has been prepared with a strict regard to 
practical utility, by a favorite tragedienne of the stage. By attention to its rules the 
learner may rapidly acquire the art of reading aloud with due emphasis, and of 
expressing himself in a set speech, or a recitation, with propriety. Though chiefly 
designed for social purposes, it will also prove a safe guide for those who ^-ish to 
establish a well founded professional reputation, either as readers, speakers, or actors. 

CONTENTS. 



Preliminary Remarks on the Leading Principles of Elocution. 
]P^IiT SEOOIVr>.— Keadiiig^. 

Family Reading. Public Reading. 

Table Oratory. After Dinner Speeches. 

Wedding Breakfast Speeches. Funeral Orations. 

Verse. 

I>^IiT THITiO.— Elo<3iitioii. 

The Bar. Parliamentary. 

The Pulpit. The Lecture Desk. 

The Stage. Conclusion. The Platform. 

Px'ice 30 Oents. 



Either of the above will be sent by mail, postpaid, ou receipt of the price. 

HAPPY HOURS COMPANY, Publishers, 

No. I Chambers Street, New York. 



THE BOOK OF WONDERS, 

MYSTERIES A^^D DISCLOSURES ; 

A Complete Hand-book of Useful Iiiforinatioii ^ 

Giving full and explicit directions for making Hair Oils, Restoratives, Hair Dyes, Perfumery, Toilet Articles, Cosme- 
tics of all kinds, Plain and Fancy Soaps, Tooth Powders, Flavoring Extracts and Essences, Patent Medicines, Inks of 
all kinds, Beverages for Families, Fairs and Pic-Xics, Remedies against all kinds of Vermin, and a large number of 
Recipes for the manufacture of valuable articles of every day use, which can be disposed of at a good profit, making 
a collection of recipes of great value to Manufacturers, Storekeepers, Druggists, Peddlers and Families generally. 

This book shows how the homely may be made handsome and the ignorant wise. It explains in a distinct manner, 
comprehensible to all, how the personal appearance of everybody, favored or otherwise by nature, can be made 
charming, fascinating and the envy of the public. It gives also plans by which thousands of the old and young of 
both sexes can find employment and gain riches. It is a compendium of the most useful information ever collected 
together for the benefit of the married and single ; showing how distresses of every character (physical and mental) 
may be prevented, or (if existing), be obliterated, and is replete with wisdom and entertainment for all. Among the 
contents of this valuable work may be found 



The Hunter's Secret. How to Catch 

Foxes, Mink, Musk Rats, Beavers, &c. How to make 
the celebrated BEAVER MEDICINE. Chinese art of 
Catching Fish alive, occ. 

The Liquor Dealer's G-uide, TeUs how 

to make all kinds of Li<iuors at V(;ry little expense, and 
HOW TO MAKE THE CELEBRATED WESTERN 
CIDER, without apples or any other fruit. 

The Ladies' Guide to Beauty, TeU- 

ing -how Ladies can become and remain beautiful. How 
to make all kinds of Rouges, Powders, Pastes, Colognes, 
Salts, Oils, &c, ; besides other information of much 
value to Ladies. 

Gamblers' Tricks Explained ; also, of Pe- 
ter Funks, Pickpockets, Pocket-Book Droppers, &c. 

The Secret of Horse Taming ; Also, 

how to make Liniments, Lotions, &c., for Horses. 

The Hair and Whiskers • To promote 

the Growth of the Hair. To Make Lyons', Wood's, 
Barry's, Bogle's, Jayne's, Storr's, Baker's, iiriscol's, 
Phalon's, Albus', Spaulding'sand other Hair Restorcrj 
and Invit-'orators. To Cure Baldness. To make tlie Hair 
Soft and Glossy. To make Pnudro Subtile for Remov- 
ing the Flair. To make Chinese Depibitory for Remov- 
ing Superfluous Hair, To make Instantaneous Hair 
Dye. rUrcctions for Dyeing the Hair. To make the 
cel.brated GRAHAM OXGUENT, for forcing the 
Whiskers and Mtistache to grow in six weeks. To 
make the Hair Curl, Ac, Ac, &c. 

Curious Facts about Water. 

Sleep — Its iMPoiiTANfi:. 

Business Rules for Young Men. 
How to Tell a Lady: Bigiis of Cluu- 



Put a piu here. 



Marrying for Show. 

Good swains and lovers. 

Signs of Love. Everybody should read 
these enumerations of the signs of the "tender pas- 
sion." 

Things Worth Knowing. This depart- 
ment contains over 400 Recipes, telling how to make 
Ayer's Cherry Pectoral, Brandreth's Pills, Certain 
Cure for Drunkenness, Essences, Extracts, &c. Pace 
Paints, Godfrey's Cordial, Inks of all kinds, &c. 
Ointments of all kinds, Pomades of all kinds, Rev, A. 
"Wilson's Great Remedy for Consumption, Asthma, 
Bronchitis, &c. Salves of all kinds. Soaps of all kinds, 
Swaim's Vermifuge. How to Transfer Engravings to 
Plaster Casts. How to Transfer Ensraviugs, Photo- 
graphs, Lithographs, AVood Cuts, Writing, in fact 
anything, to Glass. How to Clean Kid Gloves. To 
make Imitation Gold and Silver. To make Artificial 
Honey. How to make Imitation Diamonds, Rubies, 
Emeralds, Topaz and other Precious Stones. The Art 
of Potchiomoui explained, &c. 

Superstitions ; or Signs, Wonders and To- 
kens. Their signification and meaning. 

Bashfulness. its Causes. Some never 
Baslifi.l, Prevention and Cure. An example. The 
way not to do it. . 

Recipes for making Essences, Extracts, Face 
Paints, Inks, Ointments, Pomades, Salves, Soaps, &c. 

Traps and Trapping. Being practical 

and reliable information about making and u.^ing 
Traps, Snares, Nets, liaits, kc, kc. With numerous 
Illustrations. 

Taxidermy. .V j.racd.al g.ii<l<> to I>rri.ar 
ing. preBorving. Ktufliiig and mounting BinlK. With 
illustratioDH. 



Besides a vast amount of information of importance to everybody, 

OLD AND YOUNG, MALE AND FEMALE, MARRIED AND SINGLE. 



i^i^iOE T'v^-:Eiisrrc-^-FT-\r:Ei oei>tts- 



Sent to any- acldrcHM, pontage paid, on receipt of the price. 



HAPPY HOURS COMPANY, Publishers, 

No. I Chambers Street, New Yotk. 



EVERYBODY'S FRIEND 



OR, 



The Universal Hand-Book. 



This Book will give you correct information on every 
possible subject that you ever heard or thought of, or anything you 
want to know or do, this book will tell you all about it. 



COIS^TEI^TS 



Anecdotes, Conundrums, &c. 

Ants, to get rid of. 

Asleep, how to fall, 

Bandoline for the Hair, to make, 

Barometer, how to make a truthful, 

Bed Clothes, 

Bitters, how made, 

Blackberry Cordial, to make, 

Boards, to remove grease from. 

Brother Jonathan, origin of. 

Butter, new mode of preparing and 

preserving, 
Card Charm, 

Carpets, to restore color to. 
Cement for Paper, 
Cherry Bounce, how made, 
China, Cement to mend broken, 
Churning, 

Cleanliness, Advantages of, 
Cologne Water, to make superior. 
Coloring for Liquors, to make. 
Corn, to preserve from Birds & Worms 
Counterfeit Money, how to detect, 
Delicious Candy, a^ 
Earache, to cure the worst, 
Everton Taffy, to make, 
Eyes, to prevent the light injuring the 
Pact, a Curious, 
Filth, reproductive power of. 
Flannels, to make keep color and 

prevent shrinking, 
Gamblers' Tricks with Cards, Dice,&c. 
Gilding, to Preserve and Clean, 
Glue, to make liquid, 
Gold, how to make, 
Gold and Silver Coin, to tell spurious, 
Grease Spots, to remove, 
Green Corn Patties, to make, 
Hair, to Dye the, 

Recipes for Curling, 

To promote Growth of the 

Brushes, to Clean, 

Hand, the most Beautiful, 

Hard to Satisfy, 

Hens, to make them lay. 

Historical Facts, 

Horse Taming, Rarey's Theory, 

House Paint, to make economical 

White, [beautiful, 

How Ladies can become and continue 
House Plants, best Fertilizer for, 
How Men should treat Women, 
Husband, to find out whom one is *o 

have for a. 



Ink, to prevent moulding, 

Stains, to remove from linen, 

Iron Moulds, to take out of linen, 

John Jacob Astor, how he made his 
money. 

Kissing, Josh Billings on. 

Liquid Rouge for the Complexion, 
how made. 

Liquor Dealer's Guide, tells how to 
make Brandy, Holland Gin, Jamai- 
ca Rum, Irish or Scotch Whisky, 
Monongahela Whisky, Old Bour- 
bon Whisky, Peach Brandy, Pine- 
apple Rum, Madeira Wine, Sherry 
Wine, Port Wine, Claret, Raspberry 
Wine, Currant Wine, Cider, Goose- 
berry, Cherry, Elderberry, Straw- 
berry, Jfulberry, Apple, Grape, 
Apricot, Damson, and Whortleber- 
ry Wme, 

Marry, for a girl to ascertain if she'll 
soon, 

Mattresses, Cotton, 

Maxims, 12 Golden, on Dress, Con- 
versation, Bearing Adversity, An- 
ger, Secret Enemies, Law and Phys- 
ic, Inconstancy, Charity Allegor- 
ized, Diet and Regimen, How to use 
Prosperity, Believing and Commu- 
nicating News, Conduct towards a 
Friend, 

Mildew, to take out, 

Mosquitoes, to drive away. 

Moths, to guard against, ' 

Oil of Roses, for the Hair, 

Paint, to Clean, 

Parlor Magician, The, tells How to 
Cut off your Nose ; To Produce a 
Mouse from a Pack of Cards ; To 
Mahe a Card jump out of the Pack 
and be seen, upon the table ; How to 
Put an Egg^ in a Bottle ; To Prepare 
a Fountain of Fire ; A Card found 
out by the point of a Sword ; The 
Conjuror's Trick ; How to Eat Tow 
and set it on Fire in your Hand; 
Houdin's Celebrated Nut Trick ; To 
take Feathers out of an Empty 
Handkerchief; How to change a 
Pack of Cards into all manner of 
Pictures ; To change a Card which 
is in the hand of a person ; To make 
a Card pass from one hand into the 
other ; The Rope Tying Feat ; How 



to Out a Man's Head off and put it 

in a platter a yard from his body. 
Parlor Theatricals, how to get" up 

Plays, Charades, Tableaux, &c. 
Patent Safe Game, how Played, 
Pearl Powder for the Complexion, 

how to make. 
Pearl Water for the Complexion, to 

make, 
Perfumes, Geography of, 
Peter Funks Exposed, 
Pocket Book Droppers, Tricks of, 
Poetical Quotations, 
Potatoes, to prevent Rot in. 
Poultry and Eggs, 
Prophecy, a Remarkable, 
Proverbs of all Nations, 
Putrefaction, to Retard, 
Rain, the Drops in a Shower of, 

What is an inch of. 

Rat Trap, a Cheap and Efficient, 
Rose Water, to make. 
Salutations of all Nations, 
Shirt Bosoms, to make Glossy, 
Sighs of Love, how made, 
Signification, or Language of Flowers, 
Silk, to make old look like new. 
Sleepless Nights, to avoid. 
Sponges, to preserve. 
Smelling Salts, to make, 
Steel, to remove rust from, 
■ or Iron, to prevent articles of 

from rusting, 
Summer Drink, to make, 
Table Linen, to take Stains out of, 
Tea, Beneficial Influence of. 
Tea Kettle, to remove the Fur in a, 
Teeth, to make White, 
Temper and Disposition of any person, 

to know the. 
Timber, to preserve, 
Tomato Catsup, to make. 
Tooth Powder, to make a fine, 
Yinegar, to make. 
Vinegar Rouge, to make, 
Warts, to destroy, 
Washerwoman, "Useful Information 

for. 
Washing Clothes, new Mixture used 

in, 
Whiskers or Moustache, to make grow 
"WTiooping Cough, to Cure, 
Western Cider, how made without 

Apples or other Fruit, 



Sent pos"t>-paid. on Receipt of tlie ^E*iT.ce. 

HAPPY HOUKS COMPAXr, 

No. 1 Chambers Street, New York. 



art IV.^f^.f 7—/^'--- Price 25 Cts. 



f "iv! 1 1881,1 




iJi 




oi M 



ERY BOY 



Ife 




wa aiaiiiaiiii 



I 



CONTAINING INSTRUCTIONS IN 



jI^AF^PENTFiY, JuF^JMING, ^Oy\T ^UIjLDIJ^IQ, yVND 
<^LAg3 !PjLOWINQ, 

WITH FULL DIRECTIONS HOW TO MAKE 



Steam Engines, Locomotive Engines, Electric Telegraphs, 

Steam Boats, Dioramas, Clocks, Brackets, 

Telescopes, Etc., Etc. 



P!{Of^Ux^iJr,Y ij,j,u;^¥f{.$^¥ijf). 



N E w V () li K : 

H A r r Y 11 O U K S C O M P A N Y, 

X". 1 TnAMBi ns Rtrket. 



atered, according to Act of Congress, i a the year 1873, by Happy Houbs Co., in the Office of the Librarian of 

Congress at Washington. 




A MANUAL OF MYSTICAL MYSTERIES, 

WITH NUMEROUS ILLUSTRATIVE DIAGRAMS. 

»-*-0 

If, as BuTLEE insinuates, 

' ' The pleasure is as great 
of being cheated as to cheat," 

tlie life of a Prestidigitator must be a pleasant one ; and to enable any one to realize 
the fact, we, in this volume, present the key to the "Mystical Mysteries," whereby 
any boy, of an ingenious turn of mind, can amuse and astound his friends, school- 
fellows and neighbors. 

Annexed we give a list of a 

PORTION OF THE CONTENTS. 



Magic Plums, 

Sea of Ink, 

Vanishing Seed, 

Magic Candles, 

New Ribbon Manufactory, 

Magic Telegraph, 

Tricks with Eggs, 

Invisible Courier, 

Iron Hand, 

Flying Knife, 

Price 



30 



Self Balancing, 
Chameleon Trick, 
Arab in the Air, 
Rope Trick, 
Changing Fruit, 
Enchanted Coin, 
Mystic Tea Caddies, 
Japanese ButterjQies, 
Erratic Knaves, 
Etc., Etc., Etc. 
Oents. 



sz^nsriD Booi^ 




Being- a Systematic Compendium cf the necessary Rules for attaining- Proficiency 
in Reading- and Speaking-. With copious and interesting examples. 
This treatise on Elocution and Omtory has been prepared with a strict regard to 
j)ractical utility, by a favorite tragedienne of the stage. By attention to its rules the 
learner may rapidly acquire the art of reading aloud with due emphasis, and of 
expressing himself in a set speech, or a recitation, with propriety. Though chiefly 
designed for social purposes, it will also prove a safe guide for those who wish to 
establish a well founded professional reputation, either as readers, speakers, or actors. 

CONTENTS. 



Preliminary Remarks on the Leading Principles of Elocution. 
P»^IiT SEOOTSrJ3.— lieadLiiig^. 

Family Reading. Public Reading. 

Table Oratory. After Dinner Speeches. 

Wedding Breakfast Speeches. Funeral Orations. 

Verse. 



THIR.I>, 



The Bar. 

The Pulpit. 

The Stage. Conclusion. The Platform 

Fi-ice 30 Cents. 



Elooution. 

Parliamentary. 

The Lecture Desk. 



Either of the above will be sent by mail, postpaid, on receipt of the price. 

HAPPY HOURS COMPANY, Publishers, 

No. I Chambers Street, New York. 



EVEKYBODY'S FRIEND; 



OR, 



The Universal Hand-BooL 



This Book ^will give you correct information on every 
possible subject that you ever heard or thought of, or anything you 
want to know or do, this book will tell you all about it. 



CO:iSrTEN^TS: 



Anecdotes, Conundrums, &c. 

Ants, to get rid of. 

Asleep, how to fall. 

Bandoline for the Hair, to make. 

Barometer, how to make a truthful. 

Bed Clothes, 

Bitters, how made. 

Blackberry Cordial, to make, 

Boards, to remove grease from, 

Brother Jonathan, origin of. 

Butter, new mode of preparing and 

preserving, 
Card Charm, 

Carpets, to restore color to. 
Cement for Paper, 
Cherry Bounce, how made, 
China, Cement to mend broken, 
Churning, 

Cleanliness, Advantages of, 
Cologne Water, to make superior, 
Coloring for Liquors, to make, 
Corn, to preserve from Birds & Worms 
Counterfeit Money, how to detect, 
Delicious Candy, a. 
Earache, to cure the worst, 
Everton Taffy, to make, 
Eyes, to prevent the light injuring the 
Fact, a Curious, 
Filth, reproductive power of, 
Flannels, to make keep color and 

prevent shrinking, 
Garalilers* Tricks with Cards, Dico,&c. 
Gilding, to Preserve and Clean, 
Glue, to make liquid^ 
Gold, how to make, 
Goi<l and Silver Coin, to tell spurious, 
Grease Spots, to remove, 
Green Corn Patties, to make. 
Hair, to Dye the, 

Recipes for Curling, 

To promote Growth of the 

Brushes, to Clean, 

H.-tad. the most Beautiful, 

Hard to Satisfy, 

Hens, to make them lay. 

Historical Facts, 

Horse Taming, Rarey's Theory, 

House Paint, to make economical 

White, [beautiful. 

How Ladies can become and continue 
House Plants, best Fertilizer for, 
How Men should treat Women, 
Husband, to find out whom one is *o 

have for a. 



Ink, to prevent moulding, 

Stains, to remove from linen. 

Iron Moulds, to take out of linen, 

John Jacob Astor, how he made his 
money. 

Kissing, Josh Billings on, 

Liquid Rouge for the Complexion, 
how made. 

Liquor Dealer's Guide, tells how to 
make Brandy, Holland Gin, Jamai- 
ca Rum, Irish or Scotch Whisky, 
Monongahela Whisky Old Bour- 
bon Whisky, Peach Brandy, Pine- 
apple Rum', Atadeira Wine. Sherry 
Wine, Port Wine, Claret, Raspberry 
Win J, Currant Wine, Cider, Goose- 
berry, Cherry, ElderV)erry, Straw- 
berry, Mulberry, Apple, Grape, 
Apricot, Damson, and Whortleber- 
ry Wine, 

Marry, for a girl to ascertain if she'll 
soon, 

Mattresses, Cotton, 

Maxims, 12 Golden, on Dress, Con- 
versation, Bearing Adversity, An- 
ger, Secret Enemies, Law and Phys- 
ic, Inconstancy, Charity Allegor- 
ized, Diet and Regimen, How to use 
Prosperity, Believing and Commu- 
nicating News, Conduct towards a 
Friend, 

Mildew, to take out. 

Mosquitoes, to drive away, 

M jths, to guard against, 

0.1 of Roses, for the Hair, 

Paint, to Clean, 

Parlor Magician, The, tells How to 
Cut otf your Nose ; To Produce a 
3Iouse from a Pack of Cards ; To 
Ma'-e a Card jump out of the I'ack 
and be seen upon the table ; How to 
Put «n Eg(f in a Bottle ; To Prepare 
a Fount^i^n of Fire ; A Card found 
out by tho ])()int of u Sword ; The 
Conjuror's Trick ; How to Eat Tow 
and set it on Fire in your Hand ; 
lloudin's Celebrated Nut Trick ; To 
tike Feathers out of an Empty 
Handkerchief; How to change a 
Pack of Cards into all manner of 
Pictures ; To change a Card which 
is in the hand of a person ; To make 
a Card pass from one hand into the 
other ; The Rope Tying Feat ; How 



to Cut a Man's Head off and put it 

in a platter a yard from his body. 
Parlor Theatricals, how to get up 

Plays, Charades, Tableaux, &.c. 
Patent Safe Game, how Played, 
Pearl Powder for the Complexion, 

how to make. 
Pearl Water for the Complexion, to 

make. 
Perfumes, Geography of, 
Peter Funks Exposed, 
Pocket Book Droppers, Tricks of, 
Poetical Quotations, 
Potatoes, to prevent Rot in. 
Poultry and Eggs. 
Prophecy, a Remarkable, 
Proverbs of all Nations, 
Putrefaction, to Retard, 
Rain, the Drops in a Shower of, 

What is an inch of. 

Rat Trap, a Cheap and Efficient, 
Rose Water, to make. 
Salutations of all Nations, 
Shirt Bosoms, to make Giossy, 
Sighs of Love, how made. 
Signification, or Language of Flowers, 
S.ik, to mike old look like new, 
Sleepless Nights, to avoid, 
Sponsres, to preserve. 
Smelling Salts, t<> make. 
Steel, to remove rust from, 
or Iron, to prevent articles of 

from rusting. 
Summer Driijk, to make, 
Table Linen, to tuke Stains out of, 
Tea, Beneficial Infiuence of, 
'lea Kettle, to xvmove the Fur in a. 
Teeth, to make White, 
Temper and Disposition of any person, 

to Know I he. 
Timber, to preserve, 
I Tomato Catsuj), to make, * 
Tooth Powder, to make a fine, 
I Vinegar, to make, 
I Vinegar Rouge, to make, 

Warts, to destroy. 
j Washerwoman, Useful Information 
i for. 
Washing Clothes, now Mixture used 

in, 
Whiskers or Moustache, to make grow 
Whooping Cough, to Cure, 
Western Cider, how made without 

Apples or other Fruit, 



Sent post-paid on Tieceipt of the I?rioe. 

HAPPY HOURS COi\rPA:N'Y, ^ 

No. 1 Chambers Street, New York. 



THE BOOK OF WONDERS, 

MYSTERIES AND DISCLOSURES; 

A Complete Hand-book of liberal Information^ 

Giving full and explicit directions for making Hair Oils, Restoratives, Hair Dyes, Perfumery, Toilet Articles, Cosme- 
tics of all kinds, Plain and Fancy Soaps, Tooth Powders, Flavoring Extracts and Essences, Patent Medicines, Inks of 
all kinds. Beverages for Families, Fairs and Pic-Ifics, Bemedies against all kinds of Vermin, and a large number of 
Recipes for the manufacture of valuable articles of every day use, which can be disposed of at a good profit, making 
a collection of recipes of great value to Manufacturers, Storekeepers, Druggists, Peddlers and Families generally. 

This book shows how the homely may be made handsome and the ignorant wise. It explains in a distinct manner, 
comprehensible to all, how the personal appearance of everybody, favored or otherwise by nature, can he made 
charming, fascinating and the envy of the public. It gives also plans by which thousands of the old and young of 
both sexes can find employment and gain riches. It is a compendium of the most iiseful information ever collected 
together for the benefit of the married and single ; showing how distresses of every character (physical and mental) 
may be prevented, or (if existing), be obliterated, and is replete with wisdom and entertainment for all. Among the 
contents of this valuable work may be found 



The Hunter's Secret. How to Catcii 

Foxes, Mink, Musk Rats, Beavers, &c. How to make 
the celebrated BEAVER MEDICINE. Chinese art of 
Catching Fish alive, &c. 

The Liqnor Dealer's Guide, TeUs how 

to make all kinds of Liquors at very little expense, and 
HOW TO MAKE THE CELEBRATED WESTERN 
CIDER, without apples or any other fruit. 

The Ladies' G-uide to Beauty, TeU- 

ing how Ladies can become and remain beautiful. How 
to make all kinds of Rouges, Powders, Pastes, Colognes, 
Salts, Oils, &c. ; besides other information of much 
value to Ladies. 

I Gamblers' Tricks Explained ; also, of Pe- 
ter Funks, Pickpockets, Pocket-Book Droppers, &c. 

The Secret of Horse Taming ; Also, 

how to make Liniments, Lotions, &c., for Horses. 

The Hair and Whiskers * To promote 

the Growth of the Hair. To Make Lyons', Wood's, 
Barry's. Bogle's, Jayne's, Storr's, Baker's, Driscol's, 
Phalon's, Albus', Spaulding's and other Hair Restorers 
and Invigorators. To Cure Baldness. To make the Hair 
Soft and Glossy. To make Poudre Subtile for Remov- 
ing the Hair. To make Chinese Depilatory for Remov- 
ing Superfluous Hair. To make Instantaneous Hair 
Dye. Directions for Dyeing the Hair. To make the 
celebrated GRAHAM ONGUENT, for forcing the 
Whiskers and Mustache to grow in six weeks. To 
make the Hair Curl, &c., &c., &c. 

Curious Facts about Water. 

Sleep — Its Importance. 

Business Rules for Young Men. 
How to Tell a Lady: Signs of Char- 

acter. etc. 



Marrying for Show. "Put a pin here." 

Good swains and lovers. 

Signs of Love. Everybody should read 
these eniimerations of the signs of the "tender pas- 
sion." 

Things "Worth Knowing. This depart- 
ment contains over 400 Recipes, t lling how to make 
Ayer's Cherry Pectoral, Brandreth's Pills, Certain 
Cure for Drunkenness, Essences, Extracts, &c. , Face j 
Paints, Godfrey's Cordial, Inks of all kinds, &c. 
Ointments of a'll kinds. Pomades of all kinds, Rev. A. 
AVilson's Great Remedy for Consumption, Asthma, 
Bronchitis, &c. Salves of all kinds. Soaps of all kinds, 
Swaim's Vermifuge. How to Transfer Engravings to 
Plaster Casts. How to Transfer Ensravings, Photo- 
graphs, Lithographs, Wood Cuts, Writing, in fact 
anything, to Glass. How to Clean Kid Gloves. To I 
make Imitation Gold and Silver. To make Artificial 
Honey. How to make Imitation Diamonds, Rubies, ! 
Emeralds, Topaz and other Precious Stones. The Art ' 
of Potchiomoni explained, &c. | 

Superstitions ; or Signs, Wonders and To- 
kens. Their signification and meaning. 

Bashfulness. its Causes. Some never 
Bashful. Prevention and Cure. An example. The 
way not to do it. 

Recipes for making Essences, Extracts, Face 
Paints, Inks, Ointments, Pomades, Salves, Soaps, &c. 

Traps and Trapping. Being practical 

and reliable information about making and using 
Traps, Snares, Nets, Baits, &c., &c. With numerous 
Illustrations. 

Taxidermy. A practical guide to prepar- 
ing, preserving, stuffing and mounting Birds. With 
illustrations. 



Besides a vast amount of information of importance to everybody, 

OLD AND YOUNG, MALE AND FEIVIALE, MARRLED AND SINGLE. 



3PK,iaE T'^:^EnsrT"5r-i^i'V"E oeistts. 



Sent to any address, postage paid, on receipt of the pricei 



HAPPY HOURS COMPANY, 

_ No. I Cnambers Street. New York 



art V. ^^i ' : 2> J— J^gJ) 



Price 25 Cts. 



1 1881/:' 



BOY 



.-^^^ 



Ifg Own Matti&etif ©L 



CONTAINING INSTRUCTIONS IN 



j]1arpentf;y, fuFijMiNq, PoyvT ^Puildijmq, a^d 

<^LAg3 iPjLOWINQ, 

WITH FULL DIRECTIONS HOW TO MAKE 



, Steam Engines, Locomotive Engines, Electric Telegraphs, 

Steam Boats, Dioramas, Clocks, Brackets, 

Telescopes, Etc., Etc. 



f>f{of^ij'^Er,Y n,T,ir>^¥f{.a¥i{f), 



New Y o k k : 
H A r r Y II o u 11 s c; o M i» a n y. 

No. 1 Chambeiih Street. 



ered, accordiDg to Act of Congress, i a the year 1873, by Happy Hours Co. ,in the Ofittce of the Librarian of 

CoQgress at Washington. 



Bimwta 




A MANUAL OF MYSTICAL MYSTERIES, 
Far the ParlQT, BchQQl BM^ 3ra:wmg^M&Q>mf 

WITH NUMEROUS ILLUSTRATIVE DIAGRAMS. 

o^^-e 

If, as Butler insinuates, 

' • The pleasure is as great 
of being cheated as to cheat," 

the life of a Prestidigitator must be a pleasant one ; and to enable any one to realize 
the fact, we, in this A'olume, present the key to the "Mystical Mysteries," whereby 
any boy, of an ingenious turn of mind, can amuse and astound his friends, school- 
fellows and neighbors. 

Annexed we give a list of a 

PORTION OF THE CONTENTS. 
Magic Plums, Self Balancing, 

Sea of Ink, Chameleon Trick, 

Vanishing Seed, Arab in the Air, 

Magic Candles, Rope Trick, 

New Ribbon Manufactory, Changing Fruit, 

Magic Telegraph, _ Enchanted Coin, 

Tricks with Eggs, Mystic Tea Caddies, 

Invisible Courier, Japanese Butterflies, 

Iron Hand, Erratic Knaves, 

Flying Knife, Etc., Etc., Etc. 

I*rice 30 Cents. 



'HiJL.isrjD book: 



E^Toc^iiti'ii 




Being- a Systematic Compendium of the necessary Rules for attaining- Proficiency 
in Reading- and Speaking'. With, copious and interesting examples. 

This treatise on Elocution and Oratory has been prepared with a strict regard to 
practical utility, by a favorite tragedienne of the stage. By attention to its rules the 
learner may rapidly acquire the art of reading aloud with due emphasis, and of 
expressing himself in a set speech, or a recitation, with propriety. Though chiefly 
designed for social purposes, it will also prove a safe guide for those who wish to 
establish a well founded professional reputation, either as readers, speakers, or actors. 

CONTENTS. 



I>j^I^T FIRST. 

Preliminary Remarks on the Leading Principles of Elocution. 
I*^IiT SEOOnvr>.— R^eadiii^. 

Family Reading. Public Reading. 

Table Oratory. After Dinner Speeches. 

Wedding Breakfast Speeches. Funeral Orations. 

Verse. 



The Bar. 

The Pulpit. 

The Stage. Conclusion. 

Pi-ice 30 Cents. 



Eloou-tlon. 

Parliamentary. 

The Lecture Desk. 
The Platform. 



Either of the above will be sent by mail, postpaid, ou receipt of the price. 

HAPPY HOURS COMPANY, Publishers, 

No. I Chambers Street, New York. 



EVERYBODY'S FRIEND 



OR, 



The Universal Hand-Book. 



This Book 'will give you correct information on every 
possible subject that you ever heard or thought of, or anything yoi: 
want to know or do, this book will tell you all about it. 



COnSTTEISTTS 



Anecdotes, Conandrums, &c. 

Ants, to get rid of, 

Asleep, how to fall, 

Bandoline for the Hair, to make. 

Barometer, how to make a truthful, 

Bed Clothes, 

Bitters, how made, 

Blackberry Cordial, to make, 

Boards, to remove grease from, 

Brother Jonathan, origin of. 

Butter, new mode of preparing and 

preserving, 
Card Charm, 

Carpets, to restore color to, 
Cement for Paper, 
Cherry Bounce, how made, 
China, Cement to mend broken. 
Churning, 

Cleanliness, Advantages of, 
Cologne "Water, to make superior. 
Coloring for Liquors, to make, 
Corn, to preserve from Birds & Worms 
Counterfeit Money, how to detect, 
Delicious Candy, a. 
Earache, to cure the worst, 
Everton Taffy, to make, 
J^yes, to prevent the light injuring the 
I'act, a Curious, 
Filth, reproductive power of. 
Flannels, to make keep color and 

prevent shrinking, 
G.imblers' Tricks with Cards, Dice,&c. 
Gilding, to Preser^'e and Clean, 
Glue, to make liquid. 
Gold, how to make, 
Gold and SilvoeCoin, to tell spurious, 
Grease Spots, to remove. 
Green Com Patties, to make, 
Hair, to Dye the, 

Recipes for Curling, 

To promote Growth of the 

Brushes, to Clean, 

Hand, the most Beautiful, 

Hard to Satisfy, 

Hens, to make them lay, 

Historical Facts, 

Horse Taming, Ilarey's Theory, 

House Paint, to make economical 

White, [beautiful. 

How L;i(lies can become and continue 
House Plants, best Fertilizer for. 
How Men should treat Women, 
Husband, to find out whom one is *o 

have for a. 



Ink, to prevent moulding, 

Stains, t • remove from linen. 

Iron Moulds, to take out of linen, 

John Jacob Astor, how he made his 
money. 

Kissing, Josh Billings on, 

Liquid Rouge for the Complexion, 
how made. 

Liquor Dealer's Guide, tells how to 
make Brandy, Holland Gin, Jamai- 
ca Rum, Irish or Scotch Whisky, 
Monongahela Whisky Old Bour- 
bon Whisky, Peach Brandy, Pine- 
apple Rum*, Madeira Wine, Sherry 
Wine, I'ort Wine, Claret, Raspberry 
Winv», Currant Wine, Cider, Goose- 
berry, Cherry, Elderberry, Straw- 
berry, Mulberry, Apple, Grape, 
Apricot, Damson, and Whortleber- 
ry Wine. 

Marry, for a girl to ascertain if she'll 
soon, 

M ittresseS, Cotton, 

Maxim-5, 12 Golden, on Dress, Con- 
versation, Bearing Adversity, An- 
ger, Secret Enemies, Law and Phys- 
ic, Inconstancy, Charity Allegor- 
ized, Diet and Regimen, How to use 



nty, lie! 
g News, 



Conduct towards a 



Prosperity, Believing and Commu- 
nicatinj 
Friend, 
Mildew, to take out. 
Mosquitoes, to drive away, 
M >ths, to guard au^ainst, 
O.l of Roses, for the Hair, 
Paint, to Clean, 

Parlor Magician, The, tells How to 
I Cut off your Nose ; To Produce a 
Mouse from a Pack of Cards; To 
>Ia'-9 a Card jump out of the I'ack 
and he seen upon the; table ; How to 
Put an E;;^' >" -^ Bottle ; To Prepare 
a Fount..Ja of Fire ; A C.ird found 
out by tho point of a Sword ; The 
Conjuror's Trick ; How to Eat Tow 
and 8'jt it on Fire in your Hand ; 
j Iloudin's Celebrated Nut Trick ; To 
i tike Featherg out of an Empty 
I Handkerchief; How to change a 
' Pack of Canls into all manner of 
I Pictures ; To change a Card which 
I is in the hand of a jx-rson ; To make 
I a Card pass from one hainl into the 
' other ; The Rope Tying Feat ; How 



to Cut a Man's Head off and put 

in a platter a yard from his body. 
Parlor Theatricals, how to get 

Plays, Charades, Tableaux, &.c. 
Patent Safe Game, how Played, 
Pearl Powder for the Complexion 

how to make. 
Pearl Water for the Complexion, t 

make. 
Perfumes, Geography of, 
Peter Funks Exposed, 
Pocket Book Droppers, Tricks of. 
Poetical Quotations, 
Potatoes, to prevent Rot in, 
Poultry and Eggs, 
Prophecy, a Remarkable, 
Proverbs of all Nations, 
Putrefaction, to Retard, 
Rain, the Drops in a Shower of, 

What is an inch of. 

Rat Trip, a Cheap and Efficient, 
Rose Water, to make. 
Salutations of all Nations, 
S'.iirt Bosoms, to make Glossy, 
Sighs of Love, how made. 
Signification, or Language of Flower 
S.Ik, to make old look like new. 
Sleepless Nights, to avoid, 
Sponures. to preserve. 
Smelling Salts, t<> make. 
Steel, to remove rust from, 
or Iron, to prevent articles c 

from rusting, 
Summer Drink, to make, 
Table Linen, to take Stains out of, 
Tea, Beneficial Influence of, 
'lea Kettle, to remove the Fur in a 
Teeth, to make White, 
Temper and Disposition of any perso 

to Know I he. 
Timber, to jireserve. 
Tomato Catsup, to make. 
Tooth Powder, to make a fine. 
Vinegar, to make, 
I Vinegar Rouge, to make, 
I Warts, to destroy, 
I Washerwoman, "Useful Informat 
I foff 
Washing Clothes, new Mixture u 

i ,'"• 

Whiskers or Moustache, to make gr 
I Whooping Cougli, to Cure, 
j Western Cider, how made withe 
I Apples or other Fruit, 



Sent post-paid on Receipt of th.e Pi'ice. 

HAPPY HOURS COMPANY, 

No. 1 Chambers Street, New Yorl; 



THE BOOK OF WONDERS, 

MYSTERIES AND DISCLOSURES; 

A Complete Hand-book of Useral Information^ 

Giving full and explicit directions for making Hair Oils, Restoratives, Hair Dyes, Perfumery, Toilet Articles, Cosme- 
tics of all kinds, Plain and Fancy Soaps, Tooth Powders, Flavoring Extracts and Essences, Patent Medicines, Inks of 
all kinds, Beverages for Families, Fairs and Pic-Mcs, Remedies against all kinds of Vermin, and a large number of 
Recipes for the manufacture of valuable articles of every day use, which can be disposed of at a good profit, making 
a collection of recipes of great value to Manufacturers, Storekeepers, Druggists, Peddlers and Families generallv. 

This book shows how the homely may be made handsome and the ignorant wise. It explains in a distinct manner, 
comprehensible to all, how the personal appearance of everybody, favored or otherwise by nature, can be made 
charming, fascinating and the envy of the public. It gives also plans by which thousands of the old and young of 
both sexes can find employment and gain riches. It is a compendium of the most useful information ever collected 
together for the benefit of the married and single ; showing how distresses of every character (physical and mental) 
may be prevented, or (if existing), be obliterated, and is replete with wisdom and entertainment for all. Among the 
contents of this valuable work may be found 



The Hunter's Secret. How to Catch 

Foxes, Mink, Musk Rats, Beavers, &c. How to make 
the celebrated BEAVER MEDICINE. Chinese art of 
Catching Fish alive, &c. 

The Liquor Dealer's Guide, TeUs how 

to make all kinds of Liquors at very little expense, and 
HOW TO MAKE THE CELEBRATED WESTERN 
CIDER, without apples or any other fruit. 

The Ladies' G-uide to Beauty, TeU- 

ing how Ladies can become and remain beautiful. How 
to make all kinds of Rouges, Powders, Pastes, Colognes, 
Salts, Oils, &c. ; besides other information of much 
value to Ladies. 

I Gamblers' Tricks Explained ; also, of Pe- 
I ter Funks, Pickpockets, Pocket-Book Droppers, &c. 

The Secret of Horse Taming ; Also, 

how to make Liniments, Lotions, &c., for Horses. 

The Hair and Whiskers • To promote 

the Growth of the Hair. To Make Lyons', Wood's, 
Barry's, Bogle's, Jayne's, Storr's, Baker's, Driscol's, 
Phalon's, Albus', Spaulding's and other Hair Restorers 
and Invigorators. To Cure Baldness. To make the Hair 
Soft and Glossy. To make Poudre Subtile for Remov- 
ing the Hair. To make Chinese Depilatory for Remov- 
ing Superfluous Hair. To make Instantaneous Hair 
Dve. i)irections for Dyeing the Hair. To make the 
celebrated GRAHAM ONGUENT, for forcing the 
Whiskers and Mustache to grow in six weeks. To 
make the Hair Curl, &c., &c., &c. 

Curious Facts about Water. 

Sleep — ^Its Impoetance. 

Business Rules for Young Men. 

How to Tell a Lady: Signs of Char- 
acter, etc. 



"Put a pin here." 



Marrying for Show. 

Good swains and lovers. 

Signs of Love. Everybody should read 
these enumerations of the signs of the "tender pas- 
sion." 

Things Worth Knowing. This depart- 
ment contains over 400 Recipes, tiling how to make 
Ayer's Cherry Pectoral, Brandreth's Pills, Certain 
Cure for Drunkenness, Essences, Extracts, &c. Face 
Paints, Godfrey's Cordial, Inks of all kinds, &c. 
Ointments of a'll kinds. Pomades of all kinds. Rev. A. 
"Wilson's Great Remedy for Consumption, Asthma, 
BroncMtis, &c. Salves of all kinds. Soaps of all kinds, 
Swaim's Yernufuge. How to Transfer Engravings to 
Plaster Casrs. How to Transfer Enaravings, Photo- 
graphs, Lithographs, "Wood Cuts, "Writing, in fact 
anything, to Glass. How to Clean Kid Gloves. To 
make Imitation Gold and Silver. To make Artificial 
Honey. How to make Imitation Diamonds, Rubies, 
Emeralds, Topaz and other Precious Stones. The Art 
of Potchiomoni explained, &c. 

Superstitions ; or Signs, Wonders and To- 
kens, Their signification and meaning. 

Bashfulness. its Causes. Some never 
Bashful. Prevention and Cure. An example. The 
way not to do it. 

Recipes for making Essences, Extracts, Face 
Paints, Inks, Ointments, Pomades, Salves, Soaps, &c. 

Traps and Trapping. Being practical 

and reliable information about making and using 
Traps, Snares, Nets, Baits, &c., &c. With numerous 
Illustrations. 

Taxidermy. A practical guide to prepar- 
ing, preserving, stuffing and mounting Birds. "With 
illustrations. 



Besides a vast amomit of information of importance to everybody, 

OLD AND YOUNG, MALE AND FEMALE, MAERLED AND SINGLE. 



:fe,ioe T'T;7^EisrT"'2^-n"v^E oextts. 



Sent to any- address, postage paid, on receipt of tbe price* 

HAPPY HOURS COMPANl, 

No. I Cnambers Street, New York 



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